Ball State University Athletics
Soccer Plays for MAC Regular Season Title at Miami
October 27, 2015 | Soccer
Game 19
Ball State at Miami
Thursday, Oct. 29 (1 p.m.)
Oxford, Ohio (Miami Soccer Stadium)
Live Stats
MUNCIE, Ind. -- It has been eight years since the Ball State women's soccer team won a Mid-American Conference championship.
The Cardinals clinched their most recent title -- their second straight regular season crown -- in the final game of the 2007 campaign at Miami. It was the team's ninth conference win.
The 2015 Cardinals already have nine MAC wins, but a program-record 10th league victory would lock up another championship at the same place where the '07 team clinched.
Thursday's visit to Miami features a battle of division leaders with a lot on the line for both sides.
For Ball State (13-3-2, 9-1 MAC), the equation is simple. A win secures the outright conference championship, while a draw guarantees at least a share of the title. Western Michigan is two points back in the standings and plays its final game Thursday at Northern Illinois.
Miami (10-6-1, 6-3-1 MAC) enters the matchup tied for first in the MAC East Division with Buffalo. The RedHawks are playing for the right to host a quarterfinal game in the conference tournament. They could still be anywhere from the No. 3 seed to the No. 6 seed (top four seeds host).
It's hard to find a hotter team anywhere right now than Ball State, which has won 11 of its past 12 games dating back to the non-conference finale. The only loss during that stretch came in overtime at Western Michigan.
What has been most impressive is the way the team has thoroughly controlled the vast majority of its games throughout the entire season. Amazingly, the Cardinals have yet to trail a single opponent in the shots column.
Perhaps never was that dominance more on display than last weekend when Ball State held Akron and Buffalo to a combined three shots over 183 minutes of action. The Zips didn't record a single attempt. For the season, the Cardinals have registered 341 shots (11th in the nation) to 116 for the opposition.
In Miami, Ball State finds an opponent that has been equally adept at frustrating opposing offenses. The RedHawks may have allowed more shots, but they have not allowed more goals. Miami has surrendered just 11 goals all season, the fewest of any team in the league and among the top 25 nationally.
Thursday's meeting is the 20th all-time in a series that could not be any tighter. In 19 previous meetings, each side has won eight and there have been three ties.
Ball State has already secured a home game in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals and will play Sunday at 1 p.m. against an opponent that will be decided Thursday.
The Cardinals would earn the No. 1 seed by winning the regular season championship outright or the No. 2 seed if they share the title with Western Michigan. The top remaining seed after Sunday's quarterfinal games will host the semifinals and finals the weekend of Nov. 6-8.
For a complete preview of Thursday's game at Miami, check out This Week in Ball State Soccer.
