Ball State University Athletics
Soccer Team Heavy on Home Games in 2016
June 08, 2016 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State soccer team will play 11 regular season games at the Briner Sports Complex this fall, tying the program record for most home games in a season.
The Cardinals unveiled their 2016 schedule Wednesday, and it includes five straight home dates (including an exhibition) to open the season in the month of August.
The defending Mid-American Conference regular season champions will play an exhibition game Aug. 14 against Marshall and kick off their season later that week with an Aug. 19 contest against Eastern Kentucky. The homestand also includes games against IUPUI, Xavier and IPFW.
Ball State will head west the first weekend of September to visit Cal State Northridge and 2015 NCAA Tournament participant Loyola Marymount. The Cardinals will then wrap up a three-game road swing at Louisville before coming home to close out non-conference play Sept. 16 against Morehead State.
“We are looking forward to this challenging schedule,” coach Craig Roberts said. “Each opponent has been chosen to help us prepare for our conference schedule.
“In 2015, we showed we could compete with power conference teams like Indiana and LSU. This year, we have once again selected high caliber teams, including Louisville and Loyola Marymount, to test us. I believe this schedule will help us develop and once again allow us to move up the ranking scales.”
Ball State opens MAC play with a home weekend, playing Sept. 23 against Buffalo and Sept. 25 against Akron.
The home conference schedule also includes games against Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Toledo and Miami. The team will play league road games at Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Ohio and Kent State.
The Miami game Oct. 27 will mark the team's final regular season game and its 11th at home. Ball State has played 11 home games in the regular season twice previously (2000 and 2012).
The top eight teams in the MAC standings will advance to the conference tournament. The quarterfinal round will be played Oct. 30 on campus sites, and the semifinals and finals will be played Nov. 4-6 at the site of the highest remaining seed after the quarters.
Ball State is coming off a championship season in which it finished 14-3-3 overall and 10-1 in conference play after leading the league wire-to-wire.
The Cardinals, entering their seventh season under Roberts, return 16 players from that squad. The group includes reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year Lorina White and fellow All-MAC First Team selections Alyssa Heintschel and Leah Mattingly.
