Though Ball State University and the University of Richmond have never met on the field hockey field before, Saturday's season opener will be a reunion of sorts for Gina Lucido.
When the two teams begin their seasons as a part of the Miami University Kick-Off Classic, Lucido, the Richmond coach, will be on the opposite sideline from her alma mater for the first time as a head coach. The 1995 Ball State graduate was an all-American in her senior year as she helped lead her team to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals.
"It's just interesting in how things come back around," Lucido said. "It's a place where I made some history. I have good feelings about it."
All four members of Lucido's senior class were inducted into the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006. It was the first time in school history an entire class was inducted at once. All four were all-Americans in 1994 and were Mid-American Conference champions three times.
The Cardinals say they are ready to see some new faces line up across the field and start playing for real.
They will get that opportunity Saturday in Oxford, Ohio, when they play Richmond and again on Sunday when they face Davidson College to complete their opening weekend of play.
"We want to prove everything we've been working on," senior forward Casey Hunsicker said. "All this work is going to pay off."
The Cardinals are attempting to rebound from a 2007 season that ended with a first-round loss in the MAC Tournament to Central Michigan University in Oxford. This year's team is much different from the one that finished last season 5-13. This year there are three seniors and two juniors on the team, which has brought new ideas and a better work ethic, junior forward Brooke MacGillivary said.
Richmond finished last season 6-13 in Lucido's first year as head coach. The Spiders were picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10 this season, a conference they won for five straight years before last season.
"The strength of the team is that it's reliant on all the individuals on the team," Lucido said. "There are no standout players. It's a solid team that comes to compete."
Davidson, the Cardinals' second opponent, finished 2007 10-10, and 3-3 in the NorPac, their best finish since 1999. Senior defender Jodi Mann is confident Ball State can be very successful in Miami.
"We will be competitors this weekend," Mann said. "I think we can go 2-0."
Mann is more familiar with Richmond than most of her teammates. She was born in Clifton, Va., and was recruited by the Spiders. Mann said she chose Ball State because she liked coach Annette Payne more than Ange Bradley, Richmond's coach at the time.
Lucido took over after Bradley left to become Syracuse University's head coach. The former Ball State standout is connected to Mann, the 2007-08 recipient of the Edith A. Patton Memorial Scholarship. Lucido was the inaugural recipient of the scholarship in her senior year.
The game will not be the first time Lucido has been on the opposite sideline as Ball State. She spent six years at Indiana as an assistant coach, giving her yearly contact with the Cardinals.
"It's like playing against your sister," Lucido said. "You want to win, but you want to see your alma mater do well. I still have school pride."
While both schools are looking to do well this weekend, success is not solely based on wins and losses, Payne said.
"This team wants to go in there and be successful," Payne said. "They need to play the right way. To come out with two W's would be fantastic."
Hunsicker agreed that the games would be about more than wins and losses.
"We're not in MAC play yet," Hunsicker said. "This is to gain perspective. It's all about what we did. If we play the way we're supposed to, we're going to be pretty happy with that."
In actionBall State vs. Richmond University
Time: 11 a.m. Saturday
Place: Miami University Kick-Off Classic
Ball State vs. Davidson
Time: 1 p.m. Sunday
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