Soccer Hosts Ohio Sunday in MAC Championship Quarterfinals

Soccer (8-7-3; 6-2-3 MAC) hosts Ohio - MAC Women's Soccer Championship Quarterfinals
Match 19 - hosts Ohio (6-7-5; 4-4-3 MAC)	Sunday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. ET ESPN+ \| SL Digital Radio \| Live Stats
Social Media	X (Twitter) \| Instagram

MUNCIE, Ind. - - It's tournament time for the Ball State soccer program which locked up the No. 3 seed in the 2023 Mid-American Conference Women's Soccer Championship and will host No. 6 seed Ohio Sunday in a 1 p.m. quarterfinal match at the Briner Sports Complex.

The winner of Sunday's contest will advance to next Thursday's (Nov. 2) semifinals where it will battle No. 2 seed Bowling Green at 11 a.m. at the WMU Soccer Complex in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The MAC Women's Soccer Championship match will be played Sunday (Nov. 5) at 1p.m.

During the regular season, the Cardinals and Bobcats battled to a 2-2 draw on a cold, blustery afternoon at the Briner Sports Complex on Oct. 15. Senior forward Avery Fenchel and junior forward Lexi Fraley scored Ball State's goals on the afternoon, with sophomore forward Delaney Caldwell picking up the primary assist on each tally.

Despite having not lost to Ohio in the last six meetings (3-0-3), Ball State trails in the all-time series by a 9-11-6 margin. Last season, the Cardinals scored a 2-1 road win on Oct. 16. BSU has also secured at least one point in the last four meetings at the Briner Sports Complex, including the 2-2 draw on Oct. 15 of this season. Ball State is 6-2-4 all-time versus the Bobcats on its home pitch.

SEASON TO DATE:
With a 6-2-3 Mid-American Conference record and 21 total points, the Ball State soccer team secured the third seed in the 2023 MAC Women's Soccer Championship, winning the tiebreaker versus Kent State (7-4-0; 21 points) courtesy of its 3-1 win over the Golden Flashes on Oct. 5.

Overall, Ball State enters Sunday's MAC quarterfinal match with an 8-7-3 overall record after closing the regular season with a 2-0 victory over Central Michigan on Thursday.

The Cardinals opened the year with a 5-1 win over Mercyhurst (Aug. 17), before facing a gauntlet which included losses at No. 3 Notre Dame (Aug. 20), at Texas Tech (Aug. 24), at Loyola (Sept. 3) and at Vanderbilt (Sept. 7). After a 3-0 home win over Austin Peay (Sept. 10), the Cardinals faced another tough opponent in Butler (Sept. 14) on the road.

Ball State opening league play with a 3-1 home victory over Miami (Sept. 21), while battling Eastern Michigan (Sept. 24) to a 1-1 draw on the road. The following week, the Cardinals scored a 2-1 home win over Toledo (Sept. 28), while battling Western Michigan (Oct. 1) to a 2-2 draw on the road.

Ball State then earned a 3-1 home win over Kent State (Oct. 5) and tallied its first road win of the season in the form of a 5-0 victory at Buffalo (Oct. 8). Following the win over the Bulls, the Cardinals earned a 2-1 win at Akron (Oct. 12) and battled Ohio (Oct. 15) to a 2-2 draw at home.

The Cardinals then suffered a pair of last-minute setbacks at Northern Illinois (1-0 on Oct. 19) and at home against Bowling Green (2-1 on Oct. 22), before rebounding to defeat the Chippewas in its most recent outing.

BALL STATE SOCCER QUICK KICKS:
- Ball State enters Sunday's MAC quarterfinal match with a 6-1-1 record at the Briner Sports Complex this season … In fact, the Cardinals are out-scoring opponents 21-8 on its home pitch … Ball State's 21 goals at home are more than six league teams have scored all season.

- Tack on 12 road goals and the Cardinals rank second in the MAC and 58th nationally with 33 total goals … Ball State has netted at least one goal in 14 of its 18 matches, with its five goals in wins over Mercyhurst (Aug. 17) and at Buffalo (Oct. 8) tying as the most scored by a MAC team in a match this season … BSU is also 74th nationally in scoring offense at 1.83 goals per game.

- Avery Fenchel enters Thursday's match versus Central Michigan leading the team and ranked second in the MAC in both goals scored (11) and points (23) this season … She started the year with her first career hat trick in the season-opener versus Mercyhurst (Aug. 17) and added her first career assist at Loyola (Sept. 3) … Fenchel has gone on to collect the final goal in the win over Austin Peay (Sept. 10), open the scoring with her goal versus Miami (Sept. 21), net the match-winning goal versus Toledo (Sept. 28), add another match winner at Buffalo (Oct. 8) with the first of her brace in the contest, stun Akron (Oct. 12) with an 87th-minute tally for the second of her brace and provide the opening goal in the draw versus Ohio (Oct. 15).

- With 11 goals this season, Avery Fenchel remains fourth in program history with 24 career goals … Her 11 goals scored in each of the last two campaigns are the second-most goals in a single season in the BSU record book, while she scored her first two career goals as a sophomore … Fenchel is currently fifth in program history with 49 career points (24 goals / 1 assist).

- After scoring her second consecutive brace in the win at Akron (Oct. 12) and adding a goal in the draw versus Ohio (Oct. 15), Avery Fenchel was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career Tuesday.

- With her third brace of the season in Thursday's 2-0 win over Central Michigan, Lexi Fraley raised her season goal total to 10 … She becomes the sixth different player in program history to register double-digit goals in a single season … Fraley's other braces came in wins over Kent State (Oct. 5) and at Buffalo (Oct. 8), which helped her earn MAC Offensive Player of the Week and a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week as a forward … She has scored singles goals at Loyola (Sept. 3), at Eastern Michigan (Sept. 24), at Western Michigan (Oct. 1) and in the first matchup with Ohio (Oct. 15) … Fraley has also dished out three assists on the season and ranks first in the MAC in both shots (58) and shots on goal (30).

- Lexi Fraley is also climbing up Ball State's career charts, as she is currently tied for sixth all-time with her 19 career goals scored … Throw in five career assists and Fraley is seventh all-time with 43 career points (19 goals / 5 assists).

- Entering Sunday's MAC quarterfinal match versus Ohio, the Ball State offense features two of the nation's top 50 goal scorers, with Avery Fenchel ranking 24th nationally with her 11 goals and Lexi Fraley in 36th with her 10 … In addition, Fenchel is tied for 23rd nationally with her four match-winning goals.

- With 11 and 10 goals respectively, Avery Fenchel and Lexi Fraley become the first duo in program history to register double-digit goals in the same season … The closest prior to this season came in 2015 when Abbie Boswell tallied 10 goals and Chelsy Swackhammer scored nine.

- Sophomore forward Emily Roper, who notched her sixth goal of the season versus Bowling Green (Oct. 22), currenlty ranks eighth in the MAC … Roper scored her first career brace in the win over Austin Peay (Sept. 10), while scoring single goals against Mercyhurst (Aug. 17), Kent State (Oct. 5) and at Buffalo (Oct. 8) … Roper, who scored three goals as a freshman last season, is currently tied for third among BSU's active players with nine career goals.

- Overall, seven different players have scored at least one goal for the Cardinals this season, including sophomore forward Delaney Caldwell and junior forward Kaitlyn Fraser with two goals apiece … Caldwell has scored nine goals over her Ball State career, while Fraser's goals are the first two of her career … In addition, senior defender Ryann Locante (vs. Mercyhurst on Aug. 17) and freshman forward Annika Klauss (vs. Miami on Sept. 21) have each scored their first career goals this season.

- Ball State's student-athletes have dished out a total of 26 assists so far this season, led by six from Delaney Caldwell … The six assists are one shy of tying the Ball State single season record and are currently tied for second in the MAC and 74th nationally … Sophomore midfielder Tori Monaco is not far behind with four assists, the 10th-most in the league so far this season.

- Junior defender Maya Millis and Lexi Fraley have three assists apiece, while Kaitlyn Fraser, Emily Roper, junior defender Alex McPhee and graduate defender Maya Turner have two … Rounding out the list are Avery Fenchel and freshman forward Kaelyn Valleau with one helper each … Ball State's 26 assists currently rank third in the MAC and tie as the eighth-most in a single season in program history.

- Goalkeeper Bethany Moser ranks first in the MAC with 5.94 saves per match, having collected 107 total saves which leads all MAC goalkeepers and is a Ball State single-season record, topping the previous mark of 100 set by Alison Becker in 2004 … Her average ranks 18th nationally, while her total saves are 10th … Moser registered a career-high 14 saves at Northern Illinois (Oct. 19) which ties as the 16th-most saves in a match among all NCAA Division I goalkeepers this season.

- Bethany Moser was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12 after leading the league in goals against average (0.56) and save percentage (.875) for the previous week … She allowed just one goal over 160:49, with it being an 88th-minute tally by Vanderbilt (Sept. 7) … Moser also combined for the shutout win over Austin Peay (Sept. 10), playing the first 70:19 of the match and stopping all three shots she faced.

SCOUTING OHIO:
The Bobcats earned the sixth seed in the 2023 MAC Women's Soccer Championship courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Akron Thursday … The effort helped Ohio (6-7-5; 4-4-3 MAC) climb into a tie for sixth in the league standings with Buffalo and Ohio at 15 points … OU would win the tiebreaker via goal differential in MAC play at +2 … Miami was +1, while Buffalo was -2.

Ohio is tied for seventh in the MAC with 18 goals scored this season, while ranking third in goals allowed at 17 … Shae Robertson leads the squad with seven goals, while Izzi Boyd has four and Scout Murray has three … Overall, seven different Bobcats have at least one goal this season.

Cleste Sloma has played all 1620:00 minutes in goal for the Bobcats this season, registering 75 saves and owning a 0.94 goals against average.

Soccer Hosts Ohio Sunday in MAC Championship Quarterfinals

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Delaney Caldwell

Avery Fenchel

Lexi Fraley

Kaitlyn Fraser

Annika Klauss

Ryann Locante

Alex McPhee

Maya Millis

Tori Monaco

Bethany Moser

Emily Roper

Maya Turner

Kaelyn Valleau