KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan women's soccer team is set to host Ball State on Sunday afternoon at the WMU Soccer Complex. Both teams enter with undefeated records in conference play.
LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan stayed undefeated in Mid-American Conference play by taking down in-state rival Central Michigan this past Thursday. The Broncos used goals from
Heidi Thomasma,
Jenna Blackburn and
Reagan Wisser to pull out a 3-1 win in Mount Pleasant.
SCORING PARTY
Through three games in MAC play, Western Michigan has proven to be one of the best offensive teams the conference has to offer.
In conference play, the Broncos lead in shots (49), points (20), goals (6) and assists (8). The Brown and Gold have scored three goals on two different occasions to open league play. Both of those three-goal efforts were multi-goal wins.
It's been a team effort as well, with five different players scoring a goal and seven different players handing out assists.
Madison Cotta currently leads the league in helpers with two.
JOINING THE FUN
Heidi Thomasma and
Jenna Blackburn each scored their first goals of the season in last Thursday's win at Central Michigan.
It was a welcome sight, as Blackburn tied for the team lead in goals last season and Thomasma had two during last year's campaign. Though the ball wasn't going into the net, the two have been helping in other ways, as both have multiple assists so far this year. Thomasma is tied for the team lead with three, while Blackburn is just behind with two.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
The all-time series is close, but Western Michigan holds the edge, 14-12-4. WMU has been better at home against the Cardinals, boasting a 9-4-1 record in Kalamazoo. Over the last 10 meetings, Ball State leads the series 5-4-1.
Similar to WMU, Ball State is 2-0-1 in MAC play so far, which is tied for second in the conference. The Cardinals have defeated Miami and Toledo and ended in a draw with Eastern Michigan.
Avery Fenchel is the offensive player to watch out for, as she leads the team in goals (6) and points (13). She has six goals on 10 shots on goal.
Another player to watch for on offense is Lexi Fraley, who likes to let it fly. She leads the team with 35 shots (14 on goal). She is currently at six points on two goals and two assists this season.
In net, Ball State will likely turn to Bethany Moser. In 10 games this season, she has produced a 4-5-1 record, .707 save percentage and 1.80 goals against average.
