The Ball State field hockey team had five All-Mid-American Conference members last season, but four of them graduated, leaving several shoes for the team to fill this season.
"We've got a great class coming in as freshmen, and we've got some players that are ready to step up and fill the shoes," head coach Annette Payne said. "A lot of these players really want to do great things and want to achieve great things."
Among the players who were lost include two All-MAC First Team members, Afton Hess and Becky Weaver, and two All-MAC Second Team members, Kirsty Houghton and Beth Tatman.
Hess led the team and MAC in points (40), points per game (2) and goals (16) last season. Houghton led the team in assists with 10, which ranked second in the MAC.
Payne is looking forward to the team adjusting to life without last years seniors, she said, and a lot would be determined when practices got underway.
"I think we're going to be able to see a lot with the start of practice and sort of see what systems we will run and see what sort of things that we're going to do," Payne said.
While nothing is set, Payne said that's a good thing, and she see's a lot of opportunity.
The team has several threats returning. Junior Chantelle Isaac was a member of the All-MAC Second Team last season and had the second most goals on the team with eight, which was the ninth most in the MAC.
Besides Isaac, seniors Jen Strodel and Holly Frantz will be the most experienced players on the team, and Payne said she thinks they'll be good teachers for the underclassmen.
"They've done a great job in the spring, sort of teaching what is expected, and I think they'll continue to do so," Payne said.
Sophomore Lindsey Quay will return after earning the MAC Freshman of the Year award last season. Quay had six goals and 15 points last season.
On the defensive side, the Cardinals will have junior Tracy Bannister returning. She had the second-best goals against average last season, allowing 1.88 per game. She also had 60 saves and three shutouts.
The team will welcome seven freshman to the group, which is developing good team chemistry already, Payne said.
"I see this group of individuals right now really understanding how important it is to be a team, and that's really exciting for me," Payne said. "Those seven freshman coming in are already apart because they've done a great job of meshing as well as they can over the summer.
"I'm a big coach on team; I think that is huge and very crucial. I think that a strong team can get through anything."
This year's team will have to battle through a challenging schedule, which includes Big 10 schools in the non-conference portion and a closely contested MAC schedule. The team will have an advantage when the MAC Tournament rolls around, because Ball State is hosting it.
"I really think it's a conference that anybody has a chance to win, and with the championships in Muncie, that gives us an advantage," assistant coach Liz Sanders said.
Payne hopes her team can come out every week and compete and not only play to their potential, but reach beyond it, she said.
"I do not see a single game as light, a single team as light, all of us are going to be tough," Payne said. "It's really fun to be able to compete like that on every weekend."
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