The Ball State field hockey team opened its season with a pair of wins against St. Louis and Ohio, to make them undefeated as they travel to Oxford, Ohio to take on Boston University (2-0) and University of Massachusetts-Lowell (1-1) in the Miami Invitational.
In the Cardinal’s two victories over the weekend, the Cardinals outscored their opponents 9-1, with at least four goals in each game.
"We wanted to set the tone this weekend and that's definitely what we did,” head coach Christy Longacre said. “We came out and scored early and scored often and that was the most goals I think we've scored in a really long time.”
This weekend will kick off a month-long away game stand, as the Cardinals will play eight games on the road before entering Mid-American Conference play.
Along with Boston, the team will meet some of the top ranked teams in the country while on the road, as they are scheduled to face James Madison, Indiana and Michigan. Longacre plans to use the unfamiliarity as an advantage to her team.
"One of the positive things about playing Boston is that the girls really don't know them and have never really seen them play,” Longacre said. “I hope they're just looking at it as another game.”
Boston also opened its weekend of play with two wins, with victories over Bryant and New Hampshire, outscoring opponents 5-1.
As they prepare for the weekend, the team has worked on a few minor adjustments this week in practice before they face a higher caliber team.
"We're going to prepare a little bit differently and be ready for a little bit of a quicker game at a quicker pace,” Longacre said. “Other than that, our preparation and everything stays the same."
Overall, the team hopes to keep a high level of competitiveness against a talented upcoming schedule. Longacre continues to emphasize the importance of intensity for the entirety of the game.
“We need to be able to compete with good and even better skilled teams, which will be a huge thing going into this weekend,” Longacre said. “70 minutes, we have to play the whole time."
The first game against Boston is slated for 11 a.m. on Saturday, followed by UMass-Lowell at 12 p.m. on Sunday. All games will be played at the Miami Field Hockey Complex.
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