Soccer: Ball State earns draw in final game of season
Saying a team plays to the level of its competition generally has a negative connotation, but Ball State showed the positive side of that argument on Thursday.
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Saying a team plays to the level of its competition generally has a negative connotation, but Ball State showed the positive side of that argument on Thursday.
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Vestibulum placerat commodo varius. Vivamus ac sapien eget ipsum lacinia pretium et quis risus. Maecenas vehicula sagittis nulla, a adipiscing quam accumsan tempus. Proin ac venenatis elit. Suspendisse potenti. Nunc interdum velit nec risus scelerisque eget malesuada enim fermentum. Aliquam in nisi eget tortor iaculis viverra. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Nunc est elit, pretium vitae bibendum eget, cursus vel dui.
Vestibulum placerat commodo varius. Vivamus ac sapien eget ipsum lacinia pretium et quis risus. Maecenas vehicula sagittis nulla, a adipiscing quam accumsan tempus. Proin ac venenatis elit. Suspendisse potenti. Nunc interdum velit nec risus scelerisque eget malesuada enim fermentum. Aliquam in nisi eget tortor iaculis viverra. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Nunc est elit, pretium vitae bibendum eget, cursus vel dui.
Vestibulum placerat commodo varius. Vivamus ac sapien eget ipsum lacinia pretium et quis risus. Maecenas vehicula sagittis nulla, a adipiscing quam accumsan tempus. Proin ac venenatis elit. Suspendisse potenti. Nunc interdum velit nec risus scelerisque eget malesuada enim fermentum. Aliquam in nisi eget tortor iaculis viverra. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Nunc est elit, pretium vitae bibendum eget, cursus vel dui.
Until the Mid-American Conference Tournament is here, Ball State coach Craig Roberts said he won’t stress the importance of certain games to his team.
Until the Mid-American Conference Tournament is here, Ball State coach Craig Roberts said he won't stress the importance of certain games to his team.
For coach Craig Roberts, winning means more now that Ball State is among the Mid-American Conference's elite teams.
With sloppy conditions causing every ball to skip, dip or bounce unexpectedly, it wouldn't take a special strike to get a goal in Friday's game.
Ball State's frustrations have centered around its offense all season long, but the team's statistical numbers are near the top of the Mid-American Conference.
Restricted to a fan's perspective in Sunday's game at Ohio, Ball State coach Craig Roberts was watching for more than results from his team.
Ball State coach Craig Roberts has said he doesn't change his game plan based on an opponent, but surface conditions are another matter.
After arguably being Ball State's most consistent player all season, sophomore defender Pavla Benyrova got some well-deserved recognition from the league office Monday.
A booming strike from 30 yards out gave the Ball State women's soccer team a 2-1 victory over Mid-American Conference opponent Akron on Sunday. The goal came off the foot of sophomore midfielder Cailey Starck in the 81st minute of the match. It also happened to be her first career goal. "I was pretty stoked," Starck said after the game. "It feels good that I did it for the team." Ball State jumped to an early lead, getting a goal from sophomore Jasmine Moses in the third minute of the game off of a one-touch pass in front of the net.
In a game marked by turnovers and sloppy play, Morgan Whitfield's run up the left side looked like a desperation attempt at first.
As Ball State's finishing woes continue to cost the team games, Friday's Mid-American Conference opener against Buffalo offers some comfort. The Bulls have struggled on offense even more than the Cardinals. Buffalo has scored only six goals to Ball State's nine through eight games. Both Miami (23) and Kent State (17) have scored more goals than the two teams combined. "I would like to say we're at least being consistent in practice, but it's something they continually have to work at," Ball State coach Craig Roberts said. "Other things, they pick it up and master it. But the finishing, for whatever reason, we're constantly having to focus and improve on." Flashes of creativity make the struggles even harder to swallow. In Sunday's game against Butler, Ball State scored off a beautiful through-ball to sophomore forward Jasmine Moses in the 10th minute, only to get blanked in the final 80. The team's hesitancy to shoot on the field shows the problem has gone far beyond a physical or talent level. Senior defender Brigit Reder said mental blocks need to be broken down. "The mental side of the game is one you always have to be careful with," Reder said. "It's just a matter of whether it's a forward, midfielder or defender, just relaxing in front of goal and finishing. Having a confident mindset and just thinking, 'This is my job, and I'm going to do it.'" With its first two conference games at home, Friday's match provides an easier backdrop to reverse the trend. After Ball State's disappointing end to non-conference play against Butler, Reder said the MAC season provides an opportunity to erase all the wrongs. "Sunday was kind of a wake-up call that half us didn't show up," Reder said. "Mentally, we all have to be there. Going into the conference season, the energy and intensity is going to pick up. Conference is here now, and today at practice, I think it's going to really set in with people. It's time to get going." If the team doesn't get going, Roberts said he has no problem subbing liberally in Friday's game. There is no set number of players in the rotation. He said it all depends on how individuals perform on a game-to-game basis. "We're going to be monitoring players and not looking to give minutes to players just for experience [anymore]," Roberts said. "We're just sticking to the ground crew of who gets it done for us." Roberts said the team can't get much more offensive minded than the four-forward set it used against Butler. So players who get significant time Friday are likely to be those who finish goal-scoring opportunities. With nine seniors on the roster, it's likely the Cardinals go as far as the upperclassmen take them on Friday and the rest of the season. "Last year, we had a very young team, and we were new to the whole approach and expectations as you reach this portion [of the schedule]," Roberts said. "We've got a lot of experience coming back, and now they know what's supposed to happen in these coming games. They know it's important to win at home, specifically." -á
Coming off its two best performances of the season last weekend, Sunday's game against Butler was supposed to be the perfect transition into Mid-American Conference play.
In last weekend's Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Classic in Honolulu, the Ball State soccer team played its two toughest opponents yet this season. The team tied both Hawai'i and Detroit 1-1, results coach Craig Roberts said he was very pleased with. When Ball State hosts Butler on Sunday, the Cardinals play a team arguably good enough to round out the top-three hardest non-conference games of the season. "I would put Detroit and Hawai'i in that top bunch, but Butler will definitely be in the top contenders we've played this season," Roberts said. "Some of the other teams have brought a lot more offensive power than perhaps Butler has. They are not the elite, but they aren't the bottom either." Unlike the constant scoring threat posed by Hawai'i and Detroit, Butler plays at a more methodical pace. "They are a low pressure, more counter attack type of team," Roberts said. "They will catch you if you sleep for two seconds. They're very organized at the back and strong defensively. They haven't been broken down too many times." The Bulldogs conservative approach was different enough to make Roberts change up his whole formation for Sunday's game. Senior defender Amanda Dreyfus said the Cardinals will be running a 3-5-2 with sophomore defender Pavla Benyrova moving from her position in the back up to midfield. "We'll only play three in the back, because a lot of teams have been taking advantage of them playing that system," Dreyfus said. "I know we might try that." Roberts said it's not that significant of a change, because Ball State played all last season with only three defenders in the back of its formation. Benyrova's ability to play multiple positions made the transition much easier. While Butler doesn't score a lot, eight goals in eight games, the team is capable of beating anyone. The Bulldogs 4-3-1 record includes a 1-0 win at Purdue. For the first time since the season-opener, Ball State played only one game this weekend. Roberts said the team needed a break after all the travel over different time zones. "It was important to have the schedule this way for us," Roberts said. "Coming back from Hawai'i, that took a day just to recover. It allowed the girls to get, not only their bodies relaxed but mentally get in tune. It allowed them a week to recuperate and not have to worry about a game on Friday." The Cardinals lone game this weekend is their last before Mid-American Conference play starts in less than a week. All season long, Roberts said he wanted the team to be peaking right when conference play starts. Past results aside, Roberts said the game against Butler will show what kinds of results to expect come postseason. "I was very pleased with the performances this past weekend against Detroit and Hawai'i," Roberts said. "We played some of the best we've played all season. Sunday will show us where we truly are."
After a Sept. 2 game against IPFW, Ball State's sophomore forward Nicole Pembleton posed for pictures outside the locker room with an opposing player named Sydney Hoareau.
Early last week, coach Craig Roberts and sophomore forward Jasmine Moses had a meeting to talk about why the Cardinals' scoring leader from last season wasn't having the same impact in 2012.