Just four games into its season, the Ball State women's soccerteam has already reached a milestone in the program's six-yearhistory.
The Cardinals (4-0) are ranked 8th in the Great Lakes Regionthis week, the first time Ball State has appeared in the polls.Ball State was voted in after knocking sixth-ranked Indiana out ofthe polls with a 1-0 win last Sunday. Coach Ron Rainey called it agreat honor, and hopes the team will be in the polls at the end ofthe season.
"It's a great honor for the team to be on the same list as NotreDame, Illinois and Michigan," he said. "We told our kids that wehave to work that much harder to show the people who voted for usthat we deserve to be on the list."
Goalkeeper Alison Becker was also named co-Mid-AmericanConference Player of the Week. She stopped nine shots against theHoosiers, tying her career record for most saves in a game.
"I think anytime you get an individual honor, it's a reflectionof the team, but it was a great effort by her to hold Butler andIndiana to just one goal (total)," Rainey said.
This weekend, the Cardinals kick off their conference scheduleagainst the 2003 MAC co-champions, Eastern Michigan (3-1) onFriday, and Central Michigan (1-3) on Sunday. Rainey called Easternone of the premier teams in the MAC in the past five seasons.
"Conference play is such that we mentally have to be ready forone-goal games because that's what our league is like," Raineysaid.
The Eagles come off splitting games at the University of DenverTournament. Although EMU defeated host Denver 1-0, the Eagles wereshutout by Colorado, 4-0.
"They have a very good attacking team and they're real creativewhen they get into the box," he said.
Central Michigan also split their games in the OaklandTournament over the weekend. The Chippewas fell to Marquette 3-0,then salvaged the tournament with a 3-1 win over Illinois State.CMU was defeated twice at their own tournament earlier in theseason, the same tournament Ball State kicked off its season withwins against DePaul and Detroit.
"They're a good team that mentally got lost for a couple ofgames," Rainey said.
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