For the first time in its short history, the women's soccer team will host a postseason match. The match will feature the Cardinals, (13-5-1, 9-3 MAC) against the Western Michigan Broncosat 2 p.m. today.
The two teams met once earlier this season, with the Cardinals coming out on top 3-1. Ball State captured the second seed in the tournament by finishing second in league play, while Western Michigan finished with a 5-5-1 MAC record, placing them seventh.
The winner of this game will take on the winner of the Ohio-Bowling Green match Friday. Whoever finishes first in the tournament will advance to the NCAA tournament.
"I expect this to be a very close game," BSU head coach Ron Rainey said. "Right now we're not thinking at all about the future. We've practiced hard all week concentrating and focusing on this one game."
This is the second time the Cardinals have advanced to the postseason conference tournament. Last year they finished eighth and were eliminated in the first round.
Ball State will rely on the scoring of sophomores Dee Nocero and Kate Nadalin. The duo have combined for 21 of the 35 goals Ball State has scored this season.
Nocero set a school record for points in a season, with 26, and she also leads the team in assists with six. Nadalin has scored 11 goals this season, the most on the team.
"The regular season is over," Rainey said, "There's no reason to look back or look ahead. The postseason is a different kind of animal, and we need to play our best and have some fun."
The team will also rely on the leadership of seniors Ehren Reagor and Eileen Weinheimer, who have started every game that Ball State has played.
In the last match versus Western Michigan, Rainey said he thought that despite the 3-1 score, the match was much more even than that.
"They're a very solid team," Rainey said. "The last game was a match that we controlled for the first half, and they controlled the second half. We were just able to put our chances away when we got them."
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