Soccer Hosts Fort Wayne, Travels to #18 Notre Dame in Opening Weekend

Game 1
Ball State vs. Fort Wayne
Fri, Aug. 18 (5 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind. (Briner Sports Complex)
Live Stats

Game 2
Ball State at #18 Notre Dame
Sun., Aug. 20 (1:30 pm.)
South Bend, Ind. (Alumni Stadium)
Live Stats

A New Season
• Ball State opens the regular season with a split weekend, hosting Fort Wayne on Friday and visiting Notre Dame on Sunday. The Cardinals are coming off a 14-3-3 year and a second straight MAC regular season championship. BSU played Oakland to a 0-0 draw in its lone exhibition.

• Fort Wayne played a pair of exhibition games, falling 2-0 to Oakland and posting a 1-0 victory over Grace College. The Mastodons are coming off a 3-14-2 campaign in 2016.

• Notre Dame enters the season ranked No. 18 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. The Fighting Irish shared the ACC regular season championship with Clemson last year, finishing 13-3-5 overall and 7-1-2 in conference play. Notre Dame played two exhibition games, falling to Purdue and drawing No. 23 Northwestern. The Irish open the season Friday against Butler.

Sunday's game will pit the 2016 season's top two teams in Indiana according to the NCAA RPI. Notre Dame was No. 16, while Ball State finished No. 52 after reaching an all-time high of No. 40 earlier in the season. The state's next-best team in the final ratings was Indiana at No. 99.

Noteworthy
• Ball State is 11-1-1 all-time against Fort Wayne, including a 2-0 victory last season in Muncie. Sunday's matchup with Notre Dame will be the first ever meeting between the programs.

• Ball State has won the past two MAC regular season championships outright, marking only the second time that has been accomplished in league history. The first time was also by Ball State with its 2006 and 2007 titles. The Cardinals' four total regular season titles are the most in league history.

• The Cardinals' .775 winning percentage over the past two seasons is the 10th-best of any team in the country during that stretch. BSU finished each of the past two years with 14 overall victories, tying for the second-most in a season in program history.

• Coming off consecutive MAC regular season championships, BSU was picked as the favorite in the league's West Division again in 2017. The Cardinals received seven of 12 possible first-place votes from the league's coaches. BSU was also tabbed the favorite to win the MAC Tournament.

• Ball State returns 16 letterwinners from last season and welcomes the addition of 12 newcomers, including nine freshmen and three transfers.

• The Cardinals have found a measure of success recently against Power 5 conference teams. BSU is 1-0-2 against such teams over the past two seasons, including a 1-0 win at Louisville last season in double overtime. The Cardinals also earned a pair of draws at LSU and Indiana during the 2015 season.

• Dating back to the start of 2015, Ball State has surrendered one goal or fewer in 36 of its past 40 contests. The Cardinals have ranked among the top 25 nationally in goals against average in each of the past two seasons and have led the MAC in that category three times in the past four years.

Soccer Hosts Fort Wayne, Travels to #18 Notre Dame in Opening Weekend

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