After losing their previous five games, the Ball State University field hockey team gets to reset its record at 0-0 with the opening of Mid-American Conference play Saturday.
The Cardinals will face Miami University at 1 p.m. Saturday at BSU Turf Field to open league play. The RedHawks tied Ball State for second place in the MAC last season, though the Cardinals defeated Miami 3-0 in the conference tournament semifinals.
The Cardinals expect Miami to showcase their team speed offensively this season.
"They put a lot of pressure on the ball," senior forward Amanda Pavone said. "And they have a lot of speed on the attack."
Senior midfielder Lauren Cruz said Miami's game plan will be to feed its playmakers the ball whenever possible.
"They have designated players they pass to," Cruz said. "They're not a big-ball team."
One of those designated players is senior forward Alyssa Nye, who led the MAC in assists in 2006 with 11 and compiled the ninth-highest point total in RedHawks history.
Miami enters league play ranked fifth of six MAC teams by the league's coaches to Ball State's second, but coach Annette Payne said that the Cardinals don't see Miami as a fifth-place team.
"Every team is dangerous," Payne said. "You play everyone twice, and it's important not to take any games for granted."
Ball State enters league play on a five-game losing streak, just as they did in 2006, but Cruz said this year's team considers themselves more ready for MAC play.
"We feel more prepared coming out of non-conference play," Cruz said. "We've improved our weaknesses, and we're ready for MAC games."
Pavone also said that the team has put a lot of work in to rectify any issues.
"We're making a lot of progress," Pavone said. "We're making corrections as we go, game by game."
Last season, the Cardinals won five league games in a row after an 0-2 start in the MAC, but Pavone said the team wants more from this season.
"Last year, we split with all the league teams except Missouri State," Pavone said. "We'd like to improve on that."
The team believes the fact that the first three MAC games are at home may help improvement come quickly.
"Home or road, the preparation is always the same, the pregame talks are the same," Cruz said. "But we definitely feel confident playing at home."
Payne said it's vital to come away with wins at home.
"It's super important," Payne said. "We want to start off the right way."
The last time Ball State won more than six conference games in a season was 1999, which was also the last time the Cardinals took home a MAC title.
Pavone said the first step is the biggest toward reaching those benchmarks.
"It's huge, but especially since it's the first MAC game ...it's crucial," Pavone said.
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