The opponent will be familiar to the Ball State University field hockey team when they begin play in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Ball State will face Central Michigan University in the quarterfinals at 11 a.m. in Kent, Ohio. The meeting will be the third between the teams this year and the second in six days.
"They're fresh in our minds," coach Annette Payne said. "We learned what we need to do a little bit better. There are a couple adjustments we need to make."
The Chippewas swept the regular season match ups, defeating the Cardinals 3-1 in Muncie and 4-2 Saturday in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Payne said the key to reversing the results is to be more consistent.
"We have to be willing to focus on Ball State," Payne said. "We know what it will take for us to be successful. We know them well, we just have to be smart."
The Cardinals enter the tournament as the fifth seed after finishing the regular season with a 2-16 overall record and a 1-9 mark in conference play. They finished the year tied with Missouri State University, but Ball State earned the fifth seed because of their advantage in goal differential in the games the two teams played. Payne is pleased the Cardinals will enter the tournament as the fifth seed instead of the sixth.
"It's a good seed for us to be in," Payne said. "We're ready to go."
Central Michigan began conference play 0-3, but won six of their last seven MAC games. Senior forward Samantha Sandham leads the Chippewas' attack with 11 goals and nine assists. The South Africa-native is the school's all-time assist leader and is third all-time in points. However, Ball State has been successful in keeping her off the scoreboard.
"She's a good player," Payne said. "We have to continue to play her as we've been playing her."
The Cardinals limited Sandham to no goals and four assists in her last five games against them.
The two teams also met in last year's quarterfinals, with Central Michigan getting a 1-0 victory. Central Michigan would go on to lose to eventual tournament-champion Ohio University 3-0. Payne said the tournament loss is still fresh in the team's mind.
"You look at the tournament as what happened last year," Payne said. "Its definitely something you remember."
Junior goalkeeper Tiffany Shifflett has been the starter all season but was replaced 17 minutes into Sunday's 5-0 loss at Miami University after giving up three goals. Freshman Chelsea Mitchell replaced her and allowed two goals before shutting out the RedHawks in the second half. Payne said she would decide on a starter closer to game time.
The winner of Thursday's game will play regular season champion Kent State University on Friday.
Tourney previewKent StateSeed: No. 1 Record: 15-4 (9-1)Fast fact: Freshman forward Debbie Bell leads the conference in goals with 20 in 19 games
MiamiSeed: No. 2Record: 14-6 (7-3)Fast fact: Forward Courtney Fretz was named Division I Player of the Week by womensfieldhockey.comon Tuesday.
OhioSeed: No. 3Record: 9-11 (6-4)Fast fact: Ohio is looking to win its third-straight MAC Tournament championship.
Central MichiganSeed: No. 4Record: 7-11 (6-4)Fast fact: The Chippewas have won six of their last seven MAC games.
Ball StateSeed: No. 5Record: 2-16 (1-9)Fast fact: The team's next loss this season would set the program record for losses in a season at 17.
Missouri StateSeed: No. 6Record: 6-14 (1-9)Fast fact: Missouri State enters the tournament on a 10-game losing streak, including a loss to Ball State.
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