Heading into the final weekend of non-conference play, Ball State University soccer coach Ron Rainey said he is pleased with how his team has played six games into the season.
"We should be excited by our start," Rainey said. "I'm excited about us scoring goals and hopefully we can continue to do that."
Ball State (5-1) is off to one of its best starts in the team's short history, and is statistically well ahead of other Mid-American Conference teams. Through six games, the Cardinals lead MAC teams in 10 out of 14 statistical categories.
Ball State has taken 107 shots on the season, and is on pace to shoot 338 by the end of the year, compared to last year's 273. Buffalo is closest to Ball State in that category with 81.
Rainey, however, said he doesn't look at the statistics, instead looking at the teams he has played against.
"We've had some MAC opponents take on some really good teams," Rainey said. "What has been encouraging is when we've started comparing some of the teams we've played with other MAC schools, you start to see some good results for ourselves."
Three MAC teams have played Wright State, including Ball State who won 2-0. Bowling Green and Ohio, two schools picked to finish ahead of Ball State in the MAC in preseason polls, both had less than stellar games against Wright State. Bowling Green lost 4-0 and Ohio won by only one goal, 1-0.
This weekend will be Ball State's last chance to fine-tune before MAC play begins next weekend. The Cardinals will visit IUPUI (2-2-1) tonight, and will host Loyola (2-2) on Sunday. Junior defender Sarah Maxwell said many players are still trying to figure out each other's patterns.
"Because we have so many freshman we want to have one last weekend to get used to everybody's playing style," Maxwell said. "This weekend should make it easier to step into and be ready for conference play."
Rainey said he wants the team to continue attacking with composure like they did last weekend, out-scoring their opponents 8-1.
"Hopefully we build on what we've done the first few weeks," Rainey said. "We're just trying to continue to make our attack a little more sophisticated."
Rainey also said that sophomore defender Lindsay Martin will replace injured freshman Jen Vilkoski in the starting line-up this weekend. Vilkoski was injured last Friday against IPFW when she went down with an ACL tear. She is expected to miss 6-8 months of play. Rainey said Martin is a worthy replacement.
"Lindsay [Martin] started Sunday and did very well," Rainey said. "She had been playing very well coming into that game and she stepped on the field and ran with it against Wright State."
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