Mario Bautista
The Ball State soccer team continues Mid-American Conference play with a road match at Akron on Thursday before returning home Sunday to host Eastern Michigan.
Thursday’s 7 p.m. match will be streamed on ESPN+, while a free video stream will be available for Sunday’s contest which starts at 1 p.m. Links to video and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
The Cardinals (5-4, 0-2 MAC) suffered setbacks last week to Bowling Green and Kent State to begin conference competition. Ball State had entered league play riding a four-match winning streak.
Akron (5-2-2, 0-2 MAC) fell to Buffalo at home 2-0 and Central Michigan on the road 1-0 last week for its first two losses of the year. The Zips were picked to finish 11th in the 12-member MAC.
Eastern Michigan (4-4-1, 0-1-1 MAC) tied Central Michigan 2-2 in Ypsilanti before dropping a 1-0 decision at Buffalo last Sunday. The Eagles beat common opponent Purdue Fort Wayne 1-0 at home on Aug. 29. Eastern was picked 10th in the preseason head coaches poll.
Ball State paces the MAC in total goals (22, No. 39 in NCAA Division I), goals per game (2.44, No. 30), total points (69, No. 33) and points per game (7.67, No. 24) so far this year. The Cardinals are second in the conference and No. 17 nationally in assists per game (2.78).
1-2 PUNCH: The duo of juniors Delaney Caldwell and Addie Chester stand near the top of the MAC and Division I leaderboards in multiple statistics.
Caldwell’s three game-winning goals lead the league and are the 11th-most nationally, while her six goals and 17 points are both second in the MAC. Chester’s six assists are second on the
MAC leaderboard and No. 10 nationally, and her 16 points are third in the conference.
MILESTONE WATCH: Graduate forward Avery Fenchel is three goals away from tying Dee Nocero’s career goals program record of 30.
Fenchel’s 27 goals are tied with Emily Rein (2005-08) for the second-most in Ball State soccer history.
SCOUTING AKRON: The Zips went 3-14-1 (1-9-1 MAC) last year in head coach Jen Simonetti’s second at the helm.
Akron commits the fewest fouls per game in the MAC (7.56) and ranks second in the conference in save percentage (.886, No. 15 nationally), goals against average (.556, No. 26) and shutout percentage (.556).
Redshirt junior goalie Penelope Cuirinier is second in the MAC and Top 25 in NCAA Division I in save percentage (.893, No. 14) and goals against average (.462, No. 23) and was recently named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week after collecting 10 saves combined in shutout wins over Cleveland State (Sept. 12) and Saint Francis (Sept. 15).
SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN: The Eagles went 1-12-6 (1-8-2 MAC) in 2023 in former coach Scott Hall’s 25th and final season leading the program. Taylor Clarke is in his first season as the head coach at EMU.
Eastern Michigan’s 4.78 saves per game are second in the MAC, while its scoring offense (1.11 goals per game) and goal differential (0) are both 10th in the league.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Ella Holland is second in the MAC in total saves (40) and saves per game (4.44).
Up Next
The Cardinals get the midweek off and stay home to host Buffalo on Sunday, Oct. 6.
