Ball State University Athletics
Soccer Opens Athletic Year with Games Friday, Sunday
August 17, 2016 | Soccer
Game 1
Ball State vs. Eastern Kentucky
Friday, Aug. 19 (5 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Briner Sports Complex)
Game 2
Ball State vs. IUPUI
Sunday, Aug. 21 (2 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Briner Sports Complex)
The Ball State soccer team begins its season in earnest this weekend with a pair of home games to kick off the 2016-17 athletic year on campus.
The Cardinals welcome Eastern Kentucky and IUPUI to the Briner Sports Complex as the first half of a four-game homestand to open the season.
Coming off its Mid-American Conference regular season championship in 2015, Ball State saw its first action last weekend with an exhibition win over Marshall. Allison Abbe's second-half goal lifted the Cardinals to a 1-0 victory.
Abbe is one of 10 newcomers to the roster, all of whom saw action in the exhibition. They join a veteran group to form a team that will seek to continue the program's rise in its seventh year under head coach Craig Roberts.
After two consecutive 11-win seasons, Ball State took it to another level in 2015, finishing 14-3-3 overall and 10-1 during the MAC schedule. The Cardinals had not won double-digit games in three consecutive seasons since the 2005-07 stretch.
In Friday's opener, Ball State will face a first-time opponent in Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels went 0-1-1 in exhibition action, falling 2-0 at Indiana State and playing Wright State to a 3-3 draw. Coming off a 4-14 campaign last fall, EKU will be playing its first game under new head coach Nick Flohre. The team returns its top five scorers, led by Emmi Carroll who netted three goals last season.
Ball State will be meeting IUPUI for the seventh time overall but the first since the teams played to a 1-1 draw in 2013 in Indianapolis. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 4-2-2 and also defeated the Jaguars 3-0 in an exhibition game last season. Back line stalwart Leah Mattingly, who returns for her senior season, scored one of those three goals.
IUPUI played its exhibition this year against an opponent familiar to Ball State. The Jaguars hosted defending MAC Tournament champion Western Michigan in a game that ended in a 2-2 draw. They will open the regular season Friday at Valparaiso before heading to Muncie.
IUPUI went 6-9-3 last year, but the Jaguars return players who accounted for 23 of the team's 28 goals. Krissy Kirkhoff is back after scoring a team-high 12 goals a year ago.
For complete notes on this weekend's games, check out This Week in Ball State Soccer.
