In the final weekend before Mid-American Conference play begins, the Ball State University soccer team is looking for momentum that will propel it into the conference season.
The Cardinals (3-3) are on a two-game winning streak after beating Eastern Illinois University and Southern Methodist University last weekend. This weekend Ball State plays at Loyola University Chicago (3-5) today and then returns home for a game against the University of Dayton (4-3) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Forward Emily Rein said the Cardinals' goal is to finish the weekend with two wins so they can gain momentum before the Mid-American Conference portion of their season begins one week from today.
"I think it's important to keep our momentum going," the senior said. "We want to go into the MAC with a really positive attitude and a winning streak."
The task of picking up two wins against Loyola and Dayton will not be easy, though, as coach Michael Lovett called this the toughest weekend Ball State has had this season.
Last year Loyola made the NCAA tournament.
Dayton is the No. 10 team in the Great Lakes Region in the rankings from Soccerbuzz.com.
"I think they're two very quality regional opponents, both with NCAA tournament experience, and both are playing really well right now," Lovett said.
In addition to trying to gain momentum, this weekend's games will also give Ball State a chance to see how well they are playing heading into conference play. If the Cardinals can get through the weekend they should be able to do well in MAC play, Rein said.
During the past two seasons, Ball State is 17-3-2 against MAC teams during the regular season and has won the past two regular season conference championships. Last year the Cardinals went 9-1-1 in MAC play after starting the season 3-4 in non-conference play.
"I think that we kind of look at MAC as the regular season," Rein said.
Lovett said he views the non-conference games as a double-edged sword. They do not matter in conference standings, so losses will not hurt if the Cardinals take care of things in the MAC tournament. However, if they cannot win the MAC tournament, a feat the Cardinals have never accomplished, the NCAA tournament selection committee will look at the entire season, so non-conference wins will be important, he said.
Overall though, Lovett said the team is taking it game-by-game and not focusing on the NCAA tournament yet.
"[This weekend's] important for momentum, but it's more important that we can play two tough opponents and get positive results," he said.
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