As the Ball State soccer team's offense has drawn most of the attention throughout the season, the team's back line has quietly become one of the best defenses in the Mid-American Conference.
Ball State is rated fourth in shutouts (5) and fifth in goals against average (1.27) in the MAC. Remove the team's 0-5 loss against Illinois, and the latter number drops to under one goal allowed per game on average.
Ball State hosts Akron on Friday looking to secure its third shutout of a MAC opponent in five games. Akron is in the bottom half of all statistical categories on offense.
When asked about the team's defensive improvement over the past couple games, coach Craig Roberts said he credits the team's developing understanding of the game.
"We've talked about covering lately [on defense] in certain situations and have been recreating that in video format," Roberts said. "We give them evaluations after every game and given them concrete evidence of what they're doing well. And we've got some very intelligent players that continue to make progress back there."
One of those players Roberts has mentioned continuously over the past few games is junior goalkeeper Aubrey Buehler. Roberts said she has been a catalyst in the recent shutouts recorded by the team.
"She's been showing a very strong presence back there," Roberts said. "How she's positioning, her distribution and just making sure she's commanding that box. She's also been showing she's got good hands. Our assistant coach [Ileana Moschos] has been doing a great job getting the potential out of her and bringing her game to the forefront."
After starting off the conference season 3-1 (8-4-1 overall), the Cardinals begin a stretch Friday of four straight home games. The team finishes with three games on the road, two against MAC teams with eight wins, the same amount as Ball State. Roberts said he understands the importance, but isn't letting the team think too far ahead.
"We're not looking too far ahead, to be honest with you," Roberts said. "We're obviously looking to get wins out of each of the games, but right now our goal is to accomplish the objective. That is to develop our own game, get stronger and get good enough results to get into the tournament."
Read More
'We know what we need to do:' Ball State softball looks for MAC Tournament berth in final regular season series
By Zach Carter / 9 hours agoBall State will end it's regular season with a three-game series at Central Michigan. The Cardinals are currently the No. 6 team in the Mid-American Conference while the Chippewas are the No. 5 seed.
Yorktown baseballs’ offense stalls early, falls to Shelbyville
By David Moore / 22 hours agoWith few conference games left on the schedule, this was an important series for the Tigers. However, in the end, the Golden Bears swept the season series over the Tigers with an 11-6 victory.
‘Last piece of the puzzle:' Ball State softball is graduating 10 seniors after the 2023-24 season, all of whom impacted the program farther than the stat sheet.
By Zach Carter / 2 days agoA packed senior class has helped lead Ball State to success on the field and in the locker room.
