Ball State University
College of Charleston
Cardinals Continue Road Swing in South Carolina
August 30, 2018 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State University soccer team will look to build on a solid victory at Morehead State as it travels to South Carolina this weekend to take on both College of Charleston and Charleston Southern on Friday (Aug. 31) and Sunday (Sept. 2).
GAME INFO
Game 4
Ball State at College of Charleston
Friday, Aug. 31 (7 p.m.)
Mt. Pleasant, SC. (Patriots Point Soccer Stadium)
Live Stats | Match Notes (PDF)
Game 5
Ball State at Charleston Southern
Sunday, Sept. 2 (1 p.m.)
Charleston, SC. (CSU Soccer Field)
Live Stats | Match Notes (PDF)
ABOUT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
The Cougars enter Friday's contest with a record of 2-2-0. Charleston has alternated wins and losses through the season thus far as it opened with a 2-0 victory over North Florida before falling to South Carolina. The Cougars rebounded with a win against Coastal Carolina and then dropped a road contest at Wake Forest. Alyssa Beck leads the attack for Charleston with two goals on the season. Laura Ortega is the second-highest point scorer with one goal and one assist for the year. Genevieve Henderson is the main goalkeeper for the Cougars and has 16 saves this season.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the first meeting between Ball State and College of Charleston.
ABOUT CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
So far, the Buccaneers are 1-0-1 on the season. They opened the season on the road at Wofford and came home victorious with a 1-0 margin. Charleston Southern played its home opener against Mercer and finished in a 1-1 draw after two overtimes. CSU will host Florida International on Friday (Aug. 31) before the showdown with the Cardinals. Peyton Motley and Erin Rush are the two goal scorers for the Buccaneers to this point in the season.
SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's match will serve as the first meeting between the two sides.
MAC PRESEASON POLL
The cardinals were picked by the MAC coaches to finish second in the league this season. BSU received one first-place vote and the second-most points to land them behind Kent State, which received eight first-place votes. Ball State also received one vote to win the tournament championship at the end of the season. Kent State was also selected to win that competition.
2018 MAC Preseason Poll
1. Kent State – 134 (8)
2. Ball State – 119 (1)
3. Bowling Green – 114 (2)
4. Buffalo - 111
5. Central Michigan - 81
6. Toledo - 74
7. Eastern Michigan - 70
8. Ohio - 65
9. Western Michigan - 58
T10. Akron – 40 (1)
T10. Northern Illinois - 40
12. Miami – 30
Tournament Champion: Kent State (6) Buffalo (1), Ball State (1), Bowling Green (1), Central Michigan (1), Toledo (1) Western Michigan (1)
(first place votes)
OVERTIME WIN AT MOREHEAD STATE
Ball State created several chances but could not score until Jenna Dombrowski's header hit the back of the net in overtime to earn the Cardinals a 1-0 victory over Morehead State. BSU fired off 22 shots for the match and finally scored on the very last one. Paula Guerrero was credited with the assist off a free kick that resulted in the golden goal for the Cardinals. Tristin Stuteville earned her first clean sheet of the season.
SEASON OPENER AT PURDUE FORT WAYNE
Ball State survived a lightning delay that lasted over an hour as well as pouring rain all night, and took down Purdue Fort Wayne, 2-1, in the season opener at Hefner Soccer Complex. BSU tallied 20 shots on the night, 10 of which were on goal. The Cardinals got their scoring from fifth-year senior Allison Abbe and true freshman Tatiana Mason. Tristin Stuteville was solid in goal, saving two of the three shots she faced.
EXHIBITION WITH EASTERN ILLINOIS
Ball State prepared for the season with an exhibition on Friday, Aug. 10, against Eastern Illinois. The match featured three 30-minute periods and saw the Cardinals come out on top. BSU earned a corner kick in the 75th minute and senior captain Lauren Roll found the back of the net for the lone goal of the match. Tristin Stuteville was solid in goal for Ball State, making several saves to preserve the shutout. The fifth-year senior will look to anchor the Cardinal defense this season after splitting time at the position a year ago.
QUOTES
Coach Craig Roberts on expectations for the season… "The team is equally ambitious as it has been in previous seasons. We're ambitious again and eager to put our best foot forward to compete within the MAC. Obviously, the desire is to go on to the NCAA's but the main thing for us is just to keep that enthusiasm about being ambitious and we'll see where everything ends up."
Coach Roberts on the win over Morehead State… "I'm really proud of our team. I thought the girls improved on the things we addressed from the previous game and put together a complete effort. It was a really hot day on a difficult surface, and we battled through and got a good result. This match will come in handy come MAC play when we need to be at our best."
Coach Roberts on the season opener… "The weather conditions really impacted the game and turned it into a scrap and a fight, but I felt we rose to the occasion. The players responded well and fought hard through adversity to get a win. Hats off to PFW and their fight, but I was proud of our girls for finding a way to get a victory."
Coach Roberts on Ball State's 1-0 exhibition win over Eastern Illinois… "I felt that we learned a lot from the game in regard to what we need to address and what we need to do. Our mentality was good overall, we just needed to come out stronger from the start. Everybody contributed and did really well as far as their efforts and doing what we asked them to do. I felt we dominated the game throughout, we just need to find a way to convert more goals so we aren't just winning one to zero."
