Saturday, November 1
Columbus, Ohio
4 PM
Ball State University
vs
No. 5 Seed Kent State
Photo by: Madeline Howell/Ball State Athletics
Soccer Begins MAC Tournament Facing Kent State Saturday in Columbus, Ohio
October 31, 2025 | Soccer
The Ball State soccer team opens the Mid-American Conference Tournament with a matchup against No. 5 seed Kent State at 4 p.m., on Saturday at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Links to the ESPN+ broadcast, live stats and tickets can be found below and on the schedule page.
The No. 4 seed Cardinals (10-6-2, 7-4-1 MAC) toppled Northern Illinois 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon in DeKalb to notch their tenth win of the season. Ball State scored a pair of early goals from Addie Chester and Izzy Ross to end the regular season on a high note.
Kent State (8-6-5, 6-4-2 MAC) fell 1-0 at Miami on Wednesday in its final game of the regular season. The Golden Flashes escaped Muncie with a 1-0 win at Ball State on Sept. 21 in the previous meeting between the two teams this season.
Rob Marinaro is in his 25th season as the head coach at Kent State, who beat its preseason poll position of sixth in a vote of the MAC head coaches.
The Golden Flashes are third in the MAC and No. 16 in NCAA Division I in shot accuracy (.527) while ranking sixth in the league in scoring offense (1.21) and ninth in goals-against average (1.42).
Junior goalkeeper leads the league and ranks third nationally with 1,710 goalie minutes played, and her 71 total saves are third in the MAC. Junior midfielder Samantha Miller, senior defender Kelsey Salopek and junior forward Josie Morgan are tied for the team lead with four goals each.
The winner of this match will play No. 1 seed Western Michigan at 4 p.m., on Tuesday, Nov. 4 in the MAC semifinals.
TEN TIMES: With Wednesday's 2-1 decision at Northern Illinois, the Ball State soccer team reached 10 wins in a season for the first time since 2019.
That season's Cardinals went 15-5 and posted a 9-2 record in the Mid-American Conference.
AWARDS SEASON: Senior Addie Chester was voted the MAC Forward of the Year, First Team All-MAC and Offensive Player of the Week on Friday after tallying a goal and an assist in Wednesday's win at Northern Illinois to increase her season totals to 11 goals and 27 points.
The Muncie, Ind., native has now taken home four Offensive Player of the Week honors this season and was voted First Team All-Conference for a second time after doing so in 2024.
Jordyn Klaasen and Lexi Watkins joined Chester with postseason recognitions as the defender and midfielder earned spots on the MAC All-Freshman Team.
Both had game-winning goals for their first career scores this season, as Watkins' helped beat UMass 1-0 on Sept. 14, and Klaasen's took down Eastern Michigan 1-0 on Oct. 9.
ROAD RUNNERS: Ball State improved its record in road contests to 8-2 thanks to the regular season finale win at Northern Illinois.
The Cardinals concluded the regular season as the only team in the MAC with more than six wins in away games this year.
CALDWELL AND CHESTER CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOK: Seniors Delaney Caldwell and Chester recently recorded their 20th career goals, and both are nearing the top of the Ball State record book in career stat categories.
Chester's 21 goals at Ball State have her tied for fifth with Amy Holst (2003-06), while Caldwell's 20 goals have her in seventh for most in a career. Chester and Caldwell have accumulated 55 points each for the Cardinals to rank in a tie for fifth.
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Links to the ESPN+ broadcast, live stats and tickets can be found below and on the schedule page.
The No. 4 seed Cardinals (10-6-2, 7-4-1 MAC) toppled Northern Illinois 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon in DeKalb to notch their tenth win of the season. Ball State scored a pair of early goals from Addie Chester and Izzy Ross to end the regular season on a high note.
Kent State (8-6-5, 6-4-2 MAC) fell 1-0 at Miami on Wednesday in its final game of the regular season. The Golden Flashes escaped Muncie with a 1-0 win at Ball State on Sept. 21 in the previous meeting between the two teams this season.
Rob Marinaro is in his 25th season as the head coach at Kent State, who beat its preseason poll position of sixth in a vote of the MAC head coaches.
The Golden Flashes are third in the MAC and No. 16 in NCAA Division I in shot accuracy (.527) while ranking sixth in the league in scoring offense (1.21) and ninth in goals-against average (1.42).
Junior goalkeeper leads the league and ranks third nationally with 1,710 goalie minutes played, and her 71 total saves are third in the MAC. Junior midfielder Samantha Miller, senior defender Kelsey Salopek and junior forward Josie Morgan are tied for the team lead with four goals each.
The winner of this match will play No. 1 seed Western Michigan at 4 p.m., on Tuesday, Nov. 4 in the MAC semifinals.
TEN TIMES: With Wednesday's 2-1 decision at Northern Illinois, the Ball State soccer team reached 10 wins in a season for the first time since 2019.
That season's Cardinals went 15-5 and posted a 9-2 record in the Mid-American Conference.
AWARDS SEASON: Senior Addie Chester was voted the MAC Forward of the Year, First Team All-MAC and Offensive Player of the Week on Friday after tallying a goal and an assist in Wednesday's win at Northern Illinois to increase her season totals to 11 goals and 27 points.
The Muncie, Ind., native has now taken home four Offensive Player of the Week honors this season and was voted First Team All-Conference for a second time after doing so in 2024.
Jordyn Klaasen and Lexi Watkins joined Chester with postseason recognitions as the defender and midfielder earned spots on the MAC All-Freshman Team.
Both had game-winning goals for their first career scores this season, as Watkins' helped beat UMass 1-0 on Sept. 14, and Klaasen's took down Eastern Michigan 1-0 on Oct. 9.
ROAD RUNNERS: Ball State improved its record in road contests to 8-2 thanks to the regular season finale win at Northern Illinois.
The Cardinals concluded the regular season as the only team in the MAC with more than six wins in away games this year.
CALDWELL AND CHESTER CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOK: Seniors Delaney Caldwell and Chester recently recorded their 20th career goals, and both are nearing the top of the Ball State record book in career stat categories.
Chester's 21 goals at Ball State have her tied for fifth with Amy Holst (2003-06), while Caldwell's 20 goals have her in seventh for most in a career. Chester and Caldwell have accumulated 55 points each for the Cardinals to rank in a tie for fifth.
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