Even though the Ball State University soccer team thought it played well against the University of Oklahoma last week, it still lost the game.
This weekend the Cardinals (0-2) will look to get some positive results from their good play as they travel to Colorado to play Air Force (0-3) and Colorado College (3-0).
"I think it's very important [to get our first win]," coach Michael Lovett said. "Our goal for this weekend, coming off an outstanding performance last week against Oklahoma, is to leave this weekend with an even record, a .500 record of 2-2. It's a legitimate possibility.
"I honestly feel that we are going to have a very productive weekend with both Air Fore and Colorado College."
With losses to begin the season against Valparaiso University and Oklahoma, Ball State is 0-2 on the season for the first time in program history.
The Cardinals' first chance to get their first win of the season is at 8 p.m. against Air Force, which is also looking for its first win of the season. The Falcons' three losses came to the University of Northern Colorado, 2-1 in overtime; Idaho State University, 1-0; and Valparaiso, 1-0.
While both Ball State and Air Force both lost to Valparaiso, the Cardinals' next opponent, Colorado College, beat the Crusaders 1-0 this season. The Tigers also beat Oklahoma 3-1.
Although Colorado College beat both of the teams Ball State lost to, goalkeeper Rachael Murphy said, the Cardinals are not worried about Colorado College being too good to beat.
"I think they definitely play at a level that we can top, we can beat," Murphy said. "We were sorting out a lot of stuff against Valparaiso and Oklahoma. We made some changes, and we're playing good soccer right now."
Lovett said the Cardinals are evenly matched with Colorado College, which has competed in national championship games. Although the Tigers have gone through spurts of being highly ranked and unranked since their appearances in the title games in the 1980s, having such a tradition would make for a great win for Ball State regardless of what Colorado College's record is, he said.
A win against the Tigers would also go a long way in helping the Cardinals' ratings percentage index, which affects how teams are viewed when it comes time to select the field for the NCAA tournament, Lovett said.
"Anytime you play out-of-region teams it affects RPI positively, especially if you win, and it doesn't affect it too negatively unless you just get blown out," Lovett said. "I don't think our RPI was affected too much with the loss to Oklahoma as much as it was the loss to Valparaiso being in the region."
The past two seasons Ball State won the Mid-American Conference regular season championship; however, they did not win the conference tournament either year and were left out of the NCAA tournament. While the Cardinals' goal is to win the MAC tournament, wins against teams such as Air Force and Colorado College would go a long way in helping Ball State get into the NCAA tournament this year if they fail to win the MAC tournament, Lovett said.
"It just can't be a win here and there," the first-year Cardinals' coach said. "We have to be able to beat SMU and Dayton, Loyola-Chicago and teams like that. Then if we are unfortunate and don't win the MAC tournament, then you have to look back and say 'they started off slow but then they caught fire and finished strong.' That's what you hope for. You have to play your out-of-conference and out-of-region schedule as tough as you do your conference schedule. You can't take it lightly."
While this weekend's games are important for Ball State's ultimate goal of making the NCAA tournament, continuing to play well and getting better every week is the most important thing, Murphy said. This weekend Ball State expects to improve its record to 2-2 and raise team morale, she said.
"Wins are always important," Murphy said. "They help morale, but at the same time we know we easily could have won the two games we lost. We were just sorting some things out. It's more about when you peak, and we want to peak at the end of the season, we want to reach our ultimate goal, which is a first-time NCAA appearance. As long as we're playing good soccer and getting better every week, that's all you can ask for."
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