MUNCIE, Ind. – On a day when the Ball State soccer team honored its 2006 Mid-American Conference regular season championship, the 2007 Cardinals improved to 2-0-0 in conference play as they defeated Eastern Michigan, 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at the BSU Soccer Field. The Cardinals secured the victory in front of 759 fans which is the largest crowd in program history.

           "This weekend was a tremendous weekend for Ball State Soccer," second-year head coach Michelle Salmon said. "The atmosphere was electric all weekend with our fans and the BSU band. We defended really well this weekend and played as a team against two of the top teams in the conference."

            Ball State (5-4-0, 2-0-0) completed its MAC season opening weekend in impressive style as it recorded its second shutout of the conference season and its third straight overall. The Cardinal defense held Eastern Michigan to just five shots on the afternoon while junior goalkeeper Rachael Murphy (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) recorded two saves in her 10th career shutout.

            The Cardinals came out of the gate quickly and took the lead in the fourth minute of play as their pressure lead to an EMU defensive miscue. Senior forward Sarah Leibel (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) sent a ball into the box that got behind the EMU defnder and was headed for junior forward Sarah Schumacker (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield).

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