1. Western Michigan University: 23
2. Eastern Michigan University: 22
3. Miami University: 21
4. Central Michigan University: 21 (lost to Miami)
5. Kent State University: 18
6. Ball State: 17
7. Northern Illinois University: 14
8. Ohio University: 12
With just one conference game left the in the season, the shuffling atop the Mid-American Conference has started to shake out tournament seeds.
In a league full of parity, Ball State (10-5-3, 5-3-2 MAC) jockeyed with five other teams for a top-four finish and the first round home game that accompanies it for its first 10 MAC matches. A match with Miami University (9-6-3, 6-1-3 MAC) stands between Ball State and postseason play.
Despite entering conference play with the best overall record and leading the conference in a number of statistical categories the entire season, the best Ball State can finish is No. 5, which makes its match Thursday the last match the Briner Sports Complex will host in 2013. Ball State is 5-1-2 at home this season.
“It is disappointing not to be able to have the advantage of playing on our own turf and not having the Ball State fans supporting us,” head coach Craig Roberts said. “But the girls are mature and professional. Playing the road isn’t really a big deal for them — they’ve been doing it all year.”
The Cardinals have gone 1-2-2 in the MAC after starting 4-1, but Roberts still maintains the same confidence the team has strutted all season.
“At this point in the season, you have everything on the table, fine tuning,” he said. “Some individuals might not be scoring as much as they were earlier, but [with us] competing how we have in those losses makes me think we are where we need to be. We just have to capitalize.”
All three of Ball State’s conference losses have been to teams in contention for the top four of the conference and have all been a loss by one goal — one even went to double overtime.
The MAC standings are based on a point system, three points for a win and one point for a draw.
If the season ended today, Ball State would travel to Miami for its first round game looking for its first MAC championship since 2007, and Western Michigan University would host the semifinals and finals.
Read More
Two students injured in Northern California school shooting, suspect dead
By Staff Reports / 2 hours agoTwo students were wounded in a Dec. 4 shooting at Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists, a private K-8 religious school in Palermo, Calif., according to the Associated Press (AP).
Ball State hires Butler's Mike Uremovich as Cardinals' next head football coach
By Staff Reports / 14 hours agoBall State has hired former Butler football head coach Mike Uremovich to become the program's 19th head coach.
Indiana Capital Chronicle: Indiana Supreme Court weighs death row inmate’s final plea
By Indiana Capital Chronicle / YesterdayAbout two weeks away from scheduled execution, Indiana death row inmate Joseph Corcoran’s last-ditch attempts to quash his capital punishment sentence are still up in the air.
