Ball State University Athletics
Field Hockey Preps To Open Conference Action
September 30, 2015 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State (1-9) field hockey team will open Mid-American Conference action this week when it hits the road to take on Longwood (3-5, 1-2 MAC) Friday evening and Virginia Commonwealth University (3-6) on Sunday afternoon. The MAC competition is slated for a 5 p.m. start, while Sunday's non-conference action is timed for a noon start.
Last weekend, the Cardinals were faced with back-to-back losses from Ohio and No. 16 Iowa in non-conference play at home. In Saturday afternoon's matchup, Ball State fell to Ohio 4-2 despite junior Mikayla Mooney (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) scoring her first goal of the season.
The Cardinals and the Bobcats remained scoreless through the first 20 minutes of the game, until Ohio's Maria Russell scored her first of a hat trick performance. Senior Natalie Jardell (Granville, Ohio/Granville) notched her second of the season shortly thereafter in the 23rdminute with the help of Bryce Barnes (Fredericksburg, Va./Mountain View) and Bethany Han (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) off of a penalty corner opportunity. Ohio then tallied three goals in a row, to sit at a comfortable 4-1 lead by 53 minutes into the game.
Mooney then rounded out the day's scoring in the 56th minute with her first of the season after she tipped in a penalty corner from Han to finalize the score at 4-2 in favor of the Bobcats.
In a quick turnaround, the Cardinals played in a matchup against No. 16 Iowa that was broadcast on ESPN3 on Sunday afternoon, in which they fell to the Hawkeyes 6-1 in a physical battle.
The Cardinals and the Hawkeyes remained scoreless through just the first eight minutes of the game, until Iowa's Veronique Declercq scored her first of a hat trick performance, the second in a row against the Cardinals. Iowa then tallied three more goals, to sit at a comfortable 4-0 lead by 44 minutes into the fast-paced game.
Mooney notched a goal for the second game in a row in the 55th minute after Bianca Velez (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellum/Beach Premiere) took a shot on a breakaway, in which Mooney was set for the rebound to score the lone Ball State goal.
Overall, junior Lexi Kavanaugh (Sherrill, N.Y./Vernon Verona Sherrill) remains as the leading scorer for the Cardinals 10 games in, with 12 points (five goals, two assists). On the season, junior goalkeeper Jordan Dues (Fallbrook, Calif./Fallbrook) holds a .609 save percentage, 3.60 GAA and a total of 56 saves as the 10-time starting goalkeeper.
SCOUTING LONGWOOD: The Lancers are coming off a 5-1 loss to MAC opponent Kent State, following a two-game win streak against Davidson and Central Michigan. Leading the Ohio offense is senior Jennifer Burris, who sports six goals and one assist for 13 points, while the team averages 2.13 goals per game. Creating a battle at the net, goalkeeper Lauren Bernard has already stopped 35 shots, and averages 3.38 goals against average, while the Lancers defense is limiting opponents to just 3.50 goals and 9.50 shots on goal per game. Longwood is led by Iain Byers, who is in his seventh year as head coach of the program, 10th overall.
SERIES HISTORY: Most recently, the last matchup between the two schools was Oct. 17, 2014, where Longwood posted a narrow 1-0 victory at home. The game also marked the inaugural matchup between Ball State and the Lancers in Mid-American Conference play. Historically, the Longwood hold a 3-1 (.750) advantage over the Cardinals.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY: In the midst of a three-game home stretch, the Rams hope to ride out the momentum of a 2-1 double-overtime win against St. Francis to improve their 3-6 record. Being led by freshman Emily McNamara who posts five goals, VCU is averaging 1.75 goals per game and tally a total of 106 attempted shots. Goalkeeping duties are held majority of the time by senior Kendall Clifton, who marks a 2.35 goals against average and .679 save percentage. An alum of VCU, head coach Laura Baker is in her third season at the helm of the program.
SERIES HISTORY: This will mark the first matchup between Ball State and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Live stats will be available for fans unable to attend at:
LONGWOOD: http://www.sidearmstats.com/longwood/fhockey/
VCU: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?gid=vcu&theme=vcu
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State field hockey, check out BallStateSports.com and follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateFH on Twitter.
