After a summer of practice and 90 minutes of preseason action against IUPUI, the Ball State University women's soccer team is ready and excited to play, coach Michelle Salmon said.
"It's nice to be able to get out there and play someone else," Salmon said. "I think it's especially exciting for this team because they've got a lot of expectations and goals that they want to accomplish. [Friday's] just one step in the process that will continue for the rest of the season."
While every match of the season is vital, Salmon said that no match is more significant to the Cardinals than the one laying before them. That philosophy will keep the team from looking ahead to its second game this weekend against Illinois State on Sunday.
"Every game throughout the course of a season is obviously important," Salmon said. "So going in there and playing well and seeing some of the things that we implemented throughout the pre-season is very important."
Salmon said that playing a full match is the key to winning Friday's showdown. To do that, Salmon will be counting on the same core group that performed well against IUPUI in its Saturday match-up. Most notably, the Cardinals will count on the defensive presence of senior midfielder Vandi Ogden and the offensive pressure of freshman forward Megan Ridley.
"We have to put together a consistent game on the defensive side," Salmon said. "Then we need to be dynamic on the attacking side. If we can do those two things we should have a fair result."
Outside of the opposition, one of the obstacles for the Cardinals will be the time and location. Today's match kicks off at 7 p.m. on the IPFW campus. The starting time and travel distance should give IPFW an advantage. Salmon, however, is not concerned about the crowd.
"Anytime you play a 7 o'clock game at an opponent's site you'll probably be looking for them to get a decent crowd," Salmon said. "That would obviously be a little more favorable to the home team in that sense. So we have to just approach it as going in there to get a win and then go home."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
