Soccer Looks for Second Straight MAC Title vs. Miami

Thursday, October 27

Muncie, Ind.

3:00 PM

Ball State University

Miami (OH)

Photo by: Scott McNitt

Soccer Looks for Second Straight MAC Title vs. Miami

October 25, 2016 | Soccer

Weekly Notes

Cardinals playing for No. 1 tournament seed in final regular season game

Game 19
Ball State vs. Miami
Thursday, Oct. 27 (3 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Briner Sports Complex)
Live Audio | Live Stats

Schedule Note: Thursday's game has been moved up to 3 p.m., one hour earlier than originally scheduled.

Just how important was the Ball State soccer team's come-from-behind victory in Sunday's first-place showdown at Kent State?

If senior Kelsey Wendlandt hadn't tied the game in the 77th minute, the Cardinals hopes for a second straight Mid-American Conference regular season championship would have been dashed that afternoon on the turf at Kent State's Dix Stadium.

If freshman Sam Kambol hadn't weaved her way through the Golden Flashes' defense for the game-winner in overtime, the Cardinals would have found themselves still one point back in the conference standings and needing some help.

But when Kambol's shot found the corner of the net, Ball State took control of its own destiny. The Cardinals (13-3-2, 8-1-1 MAC) can clinch the outright regular season championship with a win Thursday. A win or draw will secure them the top seed in the MAC Tournament (a loss or tie by Kent State will also do the trick).

Standing in Ball State's way are the Miami RedHawks (8-7-2, 5-3-2 MAC). It's almost an identical situation to the one the Cardinals faced last season, except this time it's on their home field.

Ball State traveled to Miami for the final regular season game a year ago, needing a victory to secure the outright conference championship. The Cardinals did just that, winning 1-0 to clinch their first title since winning back-to-back in 2006 and 2007.

Now they'll try to go back-to-back again. They've already won the MAC West Division title for the second year in a row.

Miami enters Thursday's matchup fourth in the overall conference standings and fighting for the right to host one of the four quarterfinal games in the MAC Tournament. The RedHawks suffered two of their three league losses last week, falling to Kent State and Ohio.

Miami ranks fourth among MAC teams in goals against average during conference play at 0.83 and owns seven shutouts for the season, two behind Ball State for the league lead. Goalkeeper Vic Maniaci has been a big part of that, maintaining a .874 save percentage while being forced to make more saves than any keeper in the league.

Ball State will test Maniaci with a variety of potential goal scorers. Kambol and Emily Scott lead the team with five goals, but seven different Cardinals have scored at least three times.

The Cardinals have already earned the right to host a quarterfinal game in the tournament and will do so Sunday at 1 p.m. The opponent will be finalized after Thursday's games. If Ball State clinches the No. 1 seed, it would earn the right to host all of its tournament games at the Briner Sports Complex.