Field Hockey Opens 2024 Season with Two Games at Home This Weekend

MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State field hockey team is set to open its 2024 season with back-to-back contests at home against Saint Francis (Friday) and Stanford (Sunday). The Cardinals game against the Red Flash will begin at 12 pm ET, while the competition versus the Cardinals starts at 1 pm ET. Both games will be played at the Briner Sports Complex.

Ball State will be under the direction of third-year head coach Caitlin Walsh and her assistant Brooke Richards along with graduate assistant Emily Crawford, both of which are entering their first year on staff with the Cardinals.

The Cardinals return 19 players from last year's squad including Michaela Graney who was the 2023 MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Ball State will also welcome five newcomers.

Ball State and Saint Francis last met at the Briner Sports Complex on August 26, 2022. That contest resulted in a 2-1 victory for Ball State. The Cardinals and the Red Flash have met a total of four times (2017, 2018, 2021 & 2022) with Ball State leading the series, 3-1.

Ball State and Stanford will meet for the first time since the 2019 season when the two teams faced off on a neutral field on the campus of Ohio State on Oct. 12, 2019, resulting in a 5-0 loss for BSU. The last time Stanford played in Muncie was in 2001 with Ball State winning that match-up, 1-0.

The Ball State field hockey team was also voted by its fellow Mid-American Conference coaching peers to finish sixth in the 2024 preseason poll today.

After this weekend, Ball State will play at Saint Louis on Sept. 8 at 12 pm ET.

Field Hockey Opens 2024 Season with Two Games at Home This Weekend

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Players Mentioned

Michaela Graney