Ball State University
Central Michigan University
Field Hockey Faces Central Michigan On The Road This Weekend
April 15, 2021 | Field Hockey
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State field hockey team closes out its four-game road swing when it travels to Central Michigan this weekend for a pair Mid-American Conference contests. The teams are scheduled to play at 1 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday at the CMU Field Hockey Complex.
The Ball State field hockey program has continued to rebuild and improve since the arrival of third-year head coach Stephanie Bernthal. Defensively, the Cardinals have been atop of the MAC with one of league's best goalies in sophomore Wietske Overdijkink, who was recently named the MAC's Defensive Player of the Week.
On offense, the Cardinals have scored 12 total goals this season with six different players having at least one. Senior Rachel Pereira's four goals pace the squad, with three of them being game winners. Pereira's three game-winning goals tie as the most in the MAC this season, while her four total goals are tied for eighth. Â
The Cardinals are looking to get back on the winning track after falling to Kent State by a slight margin in both games last week. Prior to those contests, Ball State had been on a three-game winning streak for the first time since the 2016 season. Ball State will enter this weekend with a 5-7 overall record and a 3-5 league ledger.Â
Central Michigan has not played since March 27 due to COVID-19 protocol which postponed the Chippewas' series against the Miami RedHawks last weekend. CMU owns a 4-3 overall record and are 2-2 in MAC play. CMU's last game was a 2-1 victory at Ohio.Â
The last time these two teams collided was on September 28, 2019 at the Briner Sports Complex when the Cardinals shutout the Chippewas by a score of 2-0. Current sophomore Angel Nkosi and current senior Abby Ferenczy were the two Cardinals that scored for Ball State in the contest. Â
The last time Ball State played at CMU was on Oct. 19, 2018 resulting in a 1-0 loss for the Cardinals in Mount Pleasant, Mich.Â
The Ball State field hockey team will close out its Mid-American Conference season next week at home with a pair of games against Miami University on Friday, April 23 and Saturday, April 24. Both games are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET and will broadcasted live with Friday's contest being televised on ESPN+ and Saturday's on ballstatesports.com.Â
As a reminder, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting department of health guidance, there will be no general public attendance at Ball State field hockey home games this spring.Â
