Women’s soccer to travel to Muncie for MAC play against Ball State

By Jarrett Huff

DeKALB — Women’s soccer will head to Muncie, Indiana to face Ball State University 3 p.m. Thursday at the Soccer Field at Briner Sports Complex.

NIU is looking for its first win in Mid-American Conference play, but will have a tough task against a Ball State team that is 3-1 in MAC play this season.

The Huskies will enter Thursday’s match with a record of 2-8-1, while the Cardinals enter at 9-3. The teams last met Oct. 4, 2018 in DeKalb, with Ball State defeating NIU 2-1.

The Huskies are winless in Muncie since 2009 when NIU won   2-1 Oct. 23.

The team has struggled defensively as of late, something Head Coach Julie Colhoff said she looks for the team to improve upon.

“Our discipline defensively is definitely a big thing I’ll be looking [at],” Colhoff said. “I know we’re capable of it. We’ve seen ourselves do it, so it’s just a matter of having the will to execute on that side.”

Ball State is coming off a double overtime win against the University of Buffalo 3-2. It was the team’s third-straight win, all three being MAC games.

With seven games left on the schedule, the team needs to find consistency in its play as the postseason approaches.

“The main focus for us is putting together a complete performance,” Colhoff said. “It’s, for lack of a better way of saying it, go time for the season. We gotta get that conference win. Basically to get that it all comes down to execution”.