Ron Rainey has spent the past six years transforming a beginning soccer program, which brought home only one victory its first season, into a perennial winner in the Mid-American Conference. As coach of the Ball State University women's soccer team, he has led the program to an all-time record of 55-49-15, which ranks fifth among MAC schools, and to four straight MAC tournament appearances.
His ultimate goal, however, has not been realized. He has yet to win a conference championship, but he's set that as a top goal for his team this season.
"We want to win our league and advance to the NCAA tournament," Rainey said. "I think those are very realistic goals for our program."
Still, it's a goal that is easier said than done.
MAC soccer is unpredictable each year, and every team has a chance to win in the conference tournament. In 2004, Bowling Green finished eighth during the regular season but won the conference tournament, earning a berth in the NCAA tournament. Since MAC soccer began in 1997, only four of the eight regular-season champions have gone on to win the conference tournament. Rainey said the competition in MAC soccer is similar to that of MAC basketball.
"Our sport is just like basketball in our league where everybody is real close," Rainey said. "When people talk to us about 'who are your rivals,' well, everybody is. Anybody can do well, and that forces you to be very competitive day in and day out in practice."
The team's goal to win a conference championship grows every year, and Rainey said he hopes to advance to the NCAA tournament soon. Rainey said the attitude of the players is what helps make those goals realistic.
"I believe our kids are grinders," Rainey said. "There's not many times when we've found ourselves leaving the field wishing something had been different. I hope we never lose that part of our team's personality."
And the players hope Rainey never loses his patience and promise to build a winning program at Ball State. Former player Michelle Dineen said Rainey knows how to handle young, inexperienced players.
"Coach had to have a certain amount of patience to get through those first two years of basically loss after loss," Dineen said. "It was like he was biding his time as we matured as a team, knowing all the while that it would pay off."
Rainey is also applauded by players for his ability to bring out the best in his team, former player Dee Nocero said.
"He was able to capitalize on his players' strengths while expanding their knowledge of the game," Nocero said.
Rainey has also excelled at making the soccer program a top academic team. The team notched a perfect mark of 1,000 in the first-ever NCAA Academic Progress Rate Report this spring. Junior Sarah Maxwell attributes part of the team's academic success to Rainey.
"He clearly communicates his desire for us to excel as students first and as a team second," Maxwell said. "He continues to recruit girls that will contribute positively to the team's dynamics."
SIX-YEAR PROCESS
The process to turn Ball State soccer into an athletic and academic success started six years ago when Rainey was hired -- five months before the 1999 fall season. Many soccer recruits around the area had already made commitments when Rainey was hired. He pulled together a group of fewer than 10 students to fill his first squad, thinking the women would have good chemistry together and could help build the program for the next four years. But such a late start at recruiting left Rainey without as many players as he wanted.
"We had the bodies that first year, but we just didn't have the numbers," Rainey said.
The team exceeded expectations its second year by winning seven games and playing seven games that were decided by one point or were tied. Rainey said the difference between the first two seasons was recruiting.
"That first group, we took whoever we could find," Rainey said. "That second year, we were able to start recruiting people who could add from a playing standpoint."
Dineen was recruited to Ball State in 2000 as part of the soccer team's second incoming class. Dineen said she picked a young program because she felt she would have a chance to play.
"When I made my decision to come to Ball State, I knew I would have the opportunity to get playing time in my first year," Dineen said. "The team, like any first-year program, had not had much success yet. I knew things could only get better from there, and I was excited to be a part of building the team from the ground up."
The team did get better from there, thanks to better recruiting and the addition of a spring soccer season. The team would collect its first winning season in 2001 and advance to the MAC tournament for the first time, where the Cardinals lost to Ohio in the quarterfinals, 2-1. Rainey said the improvements in the program in that third year came from a combination of player and opponent attitudes.
"Maybe people didn't take us serious enough in that third year, or maybe we scheduled well," Rainey said. "Those things -- along with the players taking a lot more responsibility -- is what helped us stairstep and improve each season."
Ball State's best season during its first six years came in 2002. The Cards finished the season 14-6-1 and 9-3 in the MAC, and Rainey was awarded with MAC Coach of the Year honors. Ball State began the conference tournament by beating Western Michigan in the MAC quarterfinal, then the team advanced but lost to Ohio, for the second straight year, by one goal.
The successful season surprised some players, including Dineen, who was a junior in 2002.
"It took us all by surprise a little because we weren't one of those teams that was checking the standings and points after every game," Dineen said. "We were just playing to win, and it was working for us."
Assistant coach Eileen Narcotta joined the program before the 2002 season began. She said she saw the program as an opportunity for coaching success.
"I had never been involved in a program that was up-and-coming," Narcotta said. "I thought it would be a challenge, especially recruiting-wise. I was wondering how that was going to work."
MEMORABLE GAMES
The 2002 season also produced one of the team's most memorable wins in Ball State's short soccer history. The Cardinals were down 3-0 to MAC opponent Marshall with 20 minutes remaining in the game. Ball State tied the game, forcing overtime, when then-sophomore Nocero kicked in her second goal of the game for the win. Nocero, Ball State's career leader in goals and points, remembers the game as one of her fondest memories at Ball State.
"That was so memorable because the Marshall team was talking a lot of trash on the field the whole game," Nocero said. "It felt so good to win so we could have the last laugh."
The team finished 2003 and 2004 in fourth and fifth place, respectively, in the MAC. Both postseasons ended in quarterfinals losses to Central Michigan and Western Michigan. Although in both seasons Ball State couldn't finish above its 2002 second-place finish, the team was able to beat top nonconference schools.
Ball State triumphed over No. 19 Purdue on Senior Day in 2003, in a stunning 1-0 win. Ball State only took one shot, but Nocero's lone shot went in for the Cardinal upset. Dineen, who was a senior in 2002, said the game is easily her favorite memory.
"It was totally unexpected," Dineen said. "I don't even think coach thought we could win that game. I think he was just hoping for a respectable loss."
Last year, Ball State upset Indiana in Bloomington with a 1-0 victory, again after taking only one shot the entire game. As a freshman last year, Betsy Wilcek said the win was the most exciting game of the season.
"We fought so hard for 90 minutes to win that game," Wilcek said. "After the game, we were exhausted, yet we celebrated the whole way home."
The win against IU was the latest affirmation of Ball State's rise in women's soccer.
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