Thursday, August 29
Indianapolis, Ind.
7 PM
Ball State University
at
Butler
Photo by: Sam Findley/Ball State Athletics
Soccer Set for Road Matches at Butler and Michigan
August 27, 2024 | Soccer
Begins Stretch of First Three Road Contests of Season for Cardinals
The Ball State soccer teams hits the road for its first regular season matches away from Muncie when the Cardinals play at Butler on Thursday night and Michigan on Sunday afternoon.
Ball State (1-1) faces off with the Bulldogs (2-0-1) at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Indianapolis at the Sellick Bowl before traveling north to take on the Wolverines (0-3) at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Ann Arbor. Links to the video streams (FloSports and B1G+) and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
The Cardinals suffered a 2-1 setback in their most recent contest last Tuesday to Indiana. The Hoosiers scored their two goals in the first seven minutes of the match and were held scoreless for the remainder of the contest. Junior midfielder Addie Chester scored Ball State's lone goal in the 29th minute of the match.
Ball State paces the Mid-American Conference with 7.0 corner kicks per games and ranks second in shots per game (18.5) and goals per game (2.5). Butler leads the all-time series with the Cardinals 6-3-1 having won 4 of the last 5 matches (draw in 2022). Sunday's match against Michigan will be the first between the Cardinals and Wolverines in women's soccer.
Ball State, Butler, Michigan and Notre Dame play a mini round robin over the next few days as the Fighting Irish play at Michigan on Thursday and Butler on Sunday.
SCOUTING BUTLER: The Bulldogs were picked to finish fourth in the recent Big East Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll. Graduate forward Abigail Isger, graduate defender Caitlin O'Malley and junior Talia Sommer were on the preseason All-Big East Team.
Isger was the 2022 Big East Offensive Player of the Year while Sommer was the 2022 Freshman of the Year. Butler went 6-8-6 (2-3-5 Big East) in 2023 to finish sixth in the final conference standings.
The Bulldogs tied Ohio 1-1 in the Aug. 15 season opener before beating Purdue 3-0 and Drake 5-3 the most recent two Sundays. Butler came back from an early 2-0 deficit for the win over Drake last Sunday in its initial road match of the year.
Isger, Sommer and junior forward Leila Lister pace the Bulldogs with two goals each, and redshirt junior goalkeeper Anna Pierce has logged 270 minutes in goal while sporting a 1.33 goals against average and .636 save percentage. Sommer's 5.33 shots per game and 2.67 shots on goal per game are both second in the Big East and Top 20 nationally.
Butler is physical, averaging 5.67 fouls per game (No. 12 in NCAA Division I), and earns 7.67 corner kicks per game which ranks No. 28 nationally.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN: The Wolverines were voted to finish 11th in the 18-team Big Ten Coaches Poll. Senior midfielder Avery Kalitta, junior midfielder Jenna Lang and graduate goalkeeper Stephanie Sparkowski were listed as the team's Players to Watch.
Michigan has dropped its first three matches of the year, consisting of a 2-1 loss to Utah Valley in the season opener and 3-0 and 2-0 setbacks at Xavier and Colorado the past two Sundays.
The Wolverines accumulated a 7-7-4 record (3-5-2 Big Ten) in 2023 for an 11th place regular season standings placement. Head coach Jennifer Klein has led the program to a 2021 Big Ten Tournament title and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Lang has scored the lone goal of the season so far for the Wolverines, and Sparkowski has spent the majority of time in goal for the group, collecting 13 saves (fourth in the Big Ten).
Michigan's six yellow cards are the most in the league and No. 15 among NCAA Division I teams, and its 4.67 saves per game rank second in the Big Ten.
Up Next
The Cardinals wrap up their three-match roadswing on Thursday, Sept. 5 at Austin Peay in Tennessee before returning home to host Queens (Charlotte) the following Sunday.
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Ball State (1-1) faces off with the Bulldogs (2-0-1) at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Indianapolis at the Sellick Bowl before traveling north to take on the Wolverines (0-3) at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Ann Arbor. Links to the video streams (FloSports and B1G+) and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
The Cardinals suffered a 2-1 setback in their most recent contest last Tuesday to Indiana. The Hoosiers scored their two goals in the first seven minutes of the match and were held scoreless for the remainder of the contest. Junior midfielder Addie Chester scored Ball State's lone goal in the 29th minute of the match.
Ball State paces the Mid-American Conference with 7.0 corner kicks per games and ranks second in shots per game (18.5) and goals per game (2.5). Butler leads the all-time series with the Cardinals 6-3-1 having won 4 of the last 5 matches (draw in 2022). Sunday's match against Michigan will be the first between the Cardinals and Wolverines in women's soccer.
Ball State, Butler, Michigan and Notre Dame play a mini round robin over the next few days as the Fighting Irish play at Michigan on Thursday and Butler on Sunday.
SCOUTING BUTLER: The Bulldogs were picked to finish fourth in the recent Big East Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll. Graduate forward Abigail Isger, graduate defender Caitlin O'Malley and junior Talia Sommer were on the preseason All-Big East Team.
Isger was the 2022 Big East Offensive Player of the Year while Sommer was the 2022 Freshman of the Year. Butler went 6-8-6 (2-3-5 Big East) in 2023 to finish sixth in the final conference standings.
The Bulldogs tied Ohio 1-1 in the Aug. 15 season opener before beating Purdue 3-0 and Drake 5-3 the most recent two Sundays. Butler came back from an early 2-0 deficit for the win over Drake last Sunday in its initial road match of the year.
Isger, Sommer and junior forward Leila Lister pace the Bulldogs with two goals each, and redshirt junior goalkeeper Anna Pierce has logged 270 minutes in goal while sporting a 1.33 goals against average and .636 save percentage. Sommer's 5.33 shots per game and 2.67 shots on goal per game are both second in the Big East and Top 20 nationally.
Butler is physical, averaging 5.67 fouls per game (No. 12 in NCAA Division I), and earns 7.67 corner kicks per game which ranks No. 28 nationally.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN: The Wolverines were voted to finish 11th in the 18-team Big Ten Coaches Poll. Senior midfielder Avery Kalitta, junior midfielder Jenna Lang and graduate goalkeeper Stephanie Sparkowski were listed as the team's Players to Watch.
Michigan has dropped its first three matches of the year, consisting of a 2-1 loss to Utah Valley in the season opener and 3-0 and 2-0 setbacks at Xavier and Colorado the past two Sundays.
The Wolverines accumulated a 7-7-4 record (3-5-2 Big Ten) in 2023 for an 11th place regular season standings placement. Head coach Jennifer Klein has led the program to a 2021 Big Ten Tournament title and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Lang has scored the lone goal of the season so far for the Wolverines, and Sparkowski has spent the majority of time in goal for the group, collecting 13 saves (fourth in the Big Ten).
Michigan's six yellow cards are the most in the league and No. 15 among NCAA Division I teams, and its 4.67 saves per game rank second in the Big Ten.
Up Next
The Cardinals wrap up their three-match roadswing on Thursday, Sept. 5 at Austin Peay in Tennessee before returning home to host Queens (Charlotte) the following Sunday.
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Players Mentioned
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