After a successful weekend in which the Ball State women'ssoccer team picked up its first Mid-American Conference win of theseason against Buffalo, and played Kent State to a scoreless draw,the Cardinals look to continue the momentum against Marshall andOhio this weekend.
Marshall (3-5-3 overall, 0-4-1 MAC) comes off a 2-0 win over theUniversity of Maryland-Baltimore County last Friday, and a 2-1 lossto MAC rival Akron on Sunday. In their win against the Retrievers,Ashleigh Woods became the Herd's all-time leader in shutouts. Thewin also ended a five-game losing skid for the Herd.
Coach Ron Rainey said the Herd is a young but talented team, anda good week of practice should give his team the confidence oftaking advantage of that inexperience.
"I think that we have to identify their best players, andidentify ways we can attack them," he said.
The battle against Ohio (4-4-2 overall, 2-0-2 MAC) looks to be ashowdown between the MAC's two premier goalkeepers in the Bobcat'sMichell Meglaughlin and the Cardinal's Alison Becker. They are thetop two goalkeepers in goals against average and save percentage inthe MAC for the season, and are tied for first in shutouts withfive.
Despite their winning record in the MAC, Ohio has surprisinglybeen widely outshot for the season. Against MAC opponents, theBobcats have been outshot, 22-9, while for the season they've beenoutshot 177-128.
The Bobcats have been one of the top teams in the MAC in thepast few seasons, Rainey said. Leading the way is Tiffany Horvathwith eight points, and she has taken the most shots in the leaguein MAC competition, with 24.
Last weekend, the Cardinals picked up a 2-0 decision overBuffalo, and played to a scoreless tie against Kent State. DeeNocero scored her first goal of the season against the Bulls, andLindsay Wiltshire added the second goal in the 53rd minute.
"It's great to win, but it's more important to have a consistenteffort level," Rainey said.
Now halfway through the season, the Cardinals find themselves inthe middle of the pack looking for a birth into the MAC tournament.After facing Ohio, the Cardinals will have faced four of the topfive teams in the conference. Rainey said a key to separating fromthe other MAC teams fighting for a spot in the tournament will bepreparation each week.
"Mentally practicing at a very high level is very important forthe second half of the season," he said.
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