When junior midfielder Vandi Ogden totaled seven of Ball State University's 16 shots last weekend, she showed off the growing trend of the team's midfielders.
The Cardinal midfielders have showcased their offensive talents this season by being equally aggressive and talented as their forward teammates.
"We want everything balanced out on the field," coach Ron Rainey said. "We want shots coming from everywhere and that's been one of our strengths this season."
A midfielder must be equally good at passing and shooting as she is at playing defense and getting stops for the team. This year, Ball State (11-3 overall, 4-2 MAC) is relying more on its midfielders shooting ability than ever before.
Ogden, who started the same position on last year's squad, has already exceeded her previous offensive numbers. She finished with 24 shots and no goals in 2004, but has scored three goals on 31 shots this season with five games remaining in the regular season.
"I've taken more opportunities on shots and probably taken more chances on getting shots on goal," Ogden said.
Rainey said Ogden's play allows the team to get scoring chances close to the goal.
"Vandi [Ogden] does a great job in the middle of the field for two reasons; she is an excellent defender and she can serve from a great distance away from the goal," Rainey said. "We always talk as a team about the getting the ball into dangerous areas and she allows us to do that."
Ogden's teammates at midfield have increased their offense almost as much as Ogden has. Junior Amy Holst has totaled 22 shots and three goals this year compared to her 21 shot, four-goal finish last season. Sophomore Angie Heyer has shot the ball nine times more this season and sophomore Laura Bandy has equaled her numbers from last year. The addition of two freshmen has also helped the mix.
"Annie [Aiello] and Katelyn [Alexander] have really stepped up and added an aggressive streak to our midfield this year, just by playing hard and getting after the ball," Rainey said.
Aiello and Alexander are fourth and fifth on the team in shots, respectively, and they have totaled five goals between them. Although the midfielders have increased their production this season, Rainey said they have to continue to get better along with the rest of the team.
"We're still at the point where we have to get better in practices," Rainey said. "We're trying to add some wrinkles into our team as we get down to the last few weeks. We want to be able to throw off some scouting on us at this point."
Ball State will travel to Ohio this weekend to play Ohio University (3-9 overall, 1-5 MAC) and the University of Akron (2-10-1 overall, 0-6 MAC). Although both teams have less than stellar records, Rainey said Ohio will be a tough challenge.
"Ohio, player for player, is as good as anybody in the league," Rainey said. "We'll throw out their record when we play them because they'll be as good as us and we have to understand that."
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