As the Mid-American Conference Tournament approaches, every gameis crucial in determining seeding. The Ball State field hockey team(4-10, 4-3 MAC) has just three conference games remaining before ithosts the MAC Tournament Nov. 4-6.
The Cardinals will travel to Central Michigan (6-7, 3-4 MAC)Saturday for a 1 p.m. conference showdown. Head coach Annette Payneis looking for her players to play well on both sides of theball.
"It's gonna be really important that we play some solid hockeyboth offensively and defensively," Payne said.
The game marks the final time Ball State will play away fromhome this season. It will also be only the second home game forCentral Michigan, who is celebrating the opening of a new fieldagainst Indiana today.
The Cardinals have combined a 1-8 neutral and away record thisseason. The end of the road schedule combined with the final tworegular season games and the MAC Tournament at home should come asa welcome sight.
"Definitely," Payne said. "It's a good feeling to play athome."
The only win away from home on the season came last weekend in a2-0 win over Miami, a team who is 0-7 in conference play.
Despite the poor conference record of Miami, it was the bestdefensive performance of the season for BSU. It was the firstshutout of the year for goalkeeper Tracy Bannister, earning thejunior the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Week.Bannister ranks third in the conference with a 2.29 goals againstaverage per game.
Ball State will likely look for a similar defensive effortcombined with an offense that has showed many bright spots thisyear. Eight players have scored a goal this season for the Cards,seven of which have scored two or more goals.
The sophomore duo of Lindsay Quay and Carla Chiampi has provideda huge offensive boost during much of the MAC play. Chiampi hasopened the scoring in the last two games and is third on the teamin points.
Quay is the team leader in points (18) and ranks in the top fourspots in scoring, goals and points in the conference.
Central Michigan recently defeated Miami to keep its spot offourth place in the conference, one game back of Ball State.Depending on how the remaining games turn out, the Chippewas andthe Cardinals could wind up facing one another in the first roundof the MAC Tournament.
"We gotta take care of this weekend first," Payne said.
Ball State knocked off the Chippewas, 4-1, in the first meetingbetween the two squads this year. The win was important as it keptBSU in first place at the time.
Although the Cards have slipped to third in the conferencesince, Payne is still pleased with how the team is performing.
"They're doing well," she said. "They're working hard andplaying well."
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