Women's soccer heads to Ball State for Sunday matinee

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's soccer team continues its non-conference slate at Ball State on Sunday at noon Central time at the Briner Sports Complex in Muncie, Indiana.

The match features live statistics and streaming video, courtesy of BallStateSports.com. An audio broadcast through a partnership between Ball State Sports Link and Woof Boom Radio will also be available. Admission for the match is free.

The contest marks the first in Marquette program history against Ball State.

Following Sunday's match, the Golden Eagles have one more contest away from home (at Wisconsin on Aug. 29) before their home opener on Sunday, Sept. 1 against Michigan.

MARQUETTE (0-1): The Golden Eagles dropped their season opener on Thursday evening at Colorado State, 2-0, following a pair of goals from CSU senior Caeley Lordemann … Senior goalkeeper Maddy Henry made 10 saves in net for MU, which was out-shot 18-7 in the match … Six of Marquette's seven shots came in the second half, with graduate transfer Natalie Yass firing a team-high three in 81 minutes … Captains Emily Hess and Bri Jaeger each joined Henry in playing all 90 minutes, while Preseason All-BIG EAST midfielder played 62 minutes for the Golden Eagles … Freshmen Josie Kelderman and Addie Shock each started in their NCAA debuts and forward Alex Campana made her career debut as a reserve.

BALL STATE (1-0): The Cardinals rolled to a 6-0 victory over Eastern Illinois on Friday, paced by a hat trick from sophomore Grace Alsop in Josh Rife's first game as head coach … BSU fired 19 shots in the victory and recorded nine of the 10 shots on frame in the match … The Cardinals scored four goals in the second half and held a 7-1 edge in corner kicks in the game … BSU went 14-3-3 in 2018 and fell to Bowling Green in the Mid-American Conference championship match in penalty kicks … BSU is picked second in the MAC preseason poll behind BGSU and received one first-place vote … Last year's leading scorer Tatiana Mason returns after posting six goals and 15 total points as a true freshman.

HENRY IS MARQUETTE'S CAREER SAVES LEADER
• Senior goalkeeper Maddy Henry enters her fourth season as a full-time starter in 2019 and became MU's all-time saves leader against Colorado State on Aug. 22 with 10 stops. She now has 296 in 62 career games and passed Mo Bothwell (288 saves, 1997-00) to move into the top spot. The Omaha, Nebraska native entered her final campaign fifth in minutes played (5,605:30) and eighth goals against (1.25). She also sat second in saves per match (4.68), fifth in save percentage (.786), sixth in career victories (29) and fifth in shutouts (19).

• Henry performed at her best against the top competition MU faced last season. She gave the Golden Eagles a chance at upsetting No. 4 Georgetown on Oct. 18, 2018 with 10 saves against the Hoyas, including a PK stop in the 66th minute on Kyra Carusa. It was her second-highest save total of the season, ranking just behind the season-best 11 she posted against Colorado on Sept. 6. Henry also stepped up her play earlier in the year against then-No. 12 Duke, No. 3 North Carolina in the Duke Nike Classic.

2019 SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS
• The Golden Eagles begin the year with their first three regular season contests on the road before commencing their home slate against Michigan on Sept. 1.
• Against common non-conference opponents from last season, MU went 1-2 in 2018 with a win over Milwaukee and losses to Wisconsin and Michigan.
• MU plays a rare non-conference home-and-home series with Colorado State. The Golden Eagles face the Rams in the season lid-lifter on Aug. 22 and welcome them to Milwaukee for a Sunday, Sept. 22 matinee.

NEWCOMERS IN KEY ROLES
• Three newcomers played key roles during MU's two exhibition matches and a few others made contributions as well. Freshmen Josie Kelderman and Addie Shock started in the midfield and at center back respectively, while graduate transfer Natalie Yass scored twice in the midfield during the exhibition opener on Aug. 14. Freshmen forwards Alex Campana and Shelby Fountain have each seen action as has backup goalkeeper Mikki Easter, who made eight saves in the second half of the Aug. 18 scrimmage at Notre Dame.

SPRECHER LOOKING FOR BOUNCEBACK CAMPAIGN
• Forward Kylie Sprecher had a standout campaign as a first-year player in 2017 and is one of many Golden Eagles looking to bounce back to form after an injury-plagued 2018. She posted her lone goal last season against No. 4 Georgetown on Oct. 18, 2018 after leading the squad with six assists and three goals as a BIG EAST All-Freshman selection in 2017.
• During last offseason, Sprecher trained with the United States Under-20 Women's National Team before joining the U-19 squad in early 2018.

WETHERELL AND BOMBACINO RETURN AFTER ALL-FRESHMAN CAMPAIGNS
• Sophomores Katrina Wetherell and Alyssa Bombacino are expected to step into bigger roles following All-BIG EAST Freshman Team seasons in 2019. The pair each recorded six points as freshmen, while Wetherell led the team with four assists while starting every match in the midfield on her way to All-BIG EAST Second Team honors. Bombacino started six of the 16 matches in which she played, scoring three goals, including a pair of match winners.
• Wetherell was honored with All-BIG EAST Preseason Team accolades in the league's annual head coaches survey.

JAEGER WAS MU'S MINUTES LEADER IN 2018
• Center back Bri Jaeger played big minutes for the Golden Eagles last season, leading the team with 1,675 played in 18 starts after starting 14 of 17 matches in 2017. Jaeger has scored a pair of goals in her career, both on headers and roughly a year apart. She scored the winning goal against Milwaukee on Sept. 17 last season in the 73rd minute and tallied her first career marker on Sept. 10, 2017 at Rhode Island.

MARQUETTE USED 11 DIFFERENT STARTING LINEUPS IN 2018
• Marquette head coach Markus Roeders rolled out 11 different starting lineups during the 2018 season, while five first-year players saw significant action during the preseason. Maddy Henry, Bri Jaeger and Emily Hess started all 18 matches in 2018 on the back end and were joined by then-freshman Katrina Wetherell, who started every match in the midfield. Roeders will have several experienced players in new roles this season and should have a number of solid options at his disposal.