Ball State University Athletics
Field Hockey Lines Up Ohio State, Appalachian State
September 10, 2015 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State (0-5) field hockey team will continue non-conference action this week at Ohio State (2-2) on Friday, followed by home action against Appalachian State (1-3) on Saturday. The Big Ten matchup will take place at Buckeye Varsity Field in Columbus, Ohio, while the Cardinals welcome Appalachian State to the Ball State Turf Field in the Briner Sports Complex Saturday afternoon.
In Ball State's home opener Tuesday afternoon against No. 10 Northwestern, redshirt senior Bianca Velez (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam/Beach Premier) notched the Cardinals lone goal in the 21st minute.
The Cardinals and the Wildcats remained scoreless through just the first eight minutes of the game. Dominique Masters opened the scoring off a penalty stroke, followed by Velez' penalty stroke rebound prior to halftime. Northwestern's Kelley Stump secured the game after tallying a pair of goals in the second half.
Back in net, junior goalkeeper Jordan Dues (Fallbrook, Calif./Fallbrook) made her fifth start of the season and recorded six saves for a .667 save percentage.
Overall, junior Lexi Kavanaugh (Sherrill, N.Y./Vernon Verona Sherrill) remains as the leading scorer for the Cardinals five games in, with four points (one goal, two assists). On the season, Dues holds a .653 save percentage, 3.40 GAA and a total of 32 saves as the five-time starting goalkeeper.
This weekend's lineup has a 3:30 p.m. start at Ohio State and a 2 p.m. start against Appalachian State.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes are coming off a 5-0 shutout of Missouri State on Saturday, following a narrow overtime loss to No. 11 Wake Forest 3-2. Ranked third in the Big Ten Conference in shots (18.5/game) and tied for second in goals (3.25/game), Ohio State will prove to be an offensive powerhouse. Creating a battle at the net, goalkeeper Liz Tamburro already has recorded two shutouts, while the Buckeyes defense is limiting opponents to just 1.5 goals and 9.2 shots per game.
SERIES HISTORY: Most recently, the last matchup between the two schools was Sept. 14, 2014, where Ohio State rallied with a 3-2 overtime victory. Historically, the Buckeyes hold a 14-7 advantage over the Cardinals, with the last five matchups going to Ohio State.
SCOUTING APPALACHIAN STATE: In the midst of a six-game road stretch, the Mountaineers are battling through a two game losing streak. Yet to play a match at home in the 2015 season, Appalachian State is most recently coming off a trip to the east coast to post 2-1 and 5-1 losses to Brown and American, respectively, prior to taking on the Cardinals. Goalkeeper Cristina Ceppi records a 6.11 GAA, .627 save percentage and 32 saves. Leading Appalachian State offensively is Caroline Phillips, who tallies three goals and two assists, while the Mountaineers notch an average of 2.25 goals per game and 8.0 shots per game average. With a relatively fresh coaching staff, head coach Meghan Dawson and assistants Danielle Freshnock and Kerry Kiddoo are all in their first seasons with Appalachian State.
SERIES HISTORY: A recent addition to the list of Cardinals opponents, the two teams have only met five times. Holding the all-time advantage 3-2, Ball State most recently downed the Mountaineers 4-1 in their lone 2014 matchup.
Live stats will be available for fans unable to attend at:
APPALACHIAN STATE: http://www.ballstatesports.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?SPID=7632&DB_OEM_ID=14200&LIST_SPORT__FIELD_HOCKEY
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State field hockey, check out BallStateSports.com and follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateFH on Twitter.
