Women's Soccer Hosts Bryant Sunday At 3 PM

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (1-5-1, 0-1 NEC) vs.
Bryant University Bulldogs (2-6, 0-1 NEC)
Saturday, October 3, 2009 - 3 p.m.
Quinnipiac Soccer Field - Hamden, Conn.

Home Sweet Home
The Quinnipiac University women's soccer team returns home Sunday afternoon to host Bryant University in its Northeast Conference home opener. The Bobcats have not played a home game since Sept. 13. The game is set to start at 3 p.m., and is the second of a soccer doubleheader, as the Quinnipiac men's team hosts St. Francis (Pa.) at 12 p.m. at the Quinnipiac Soccer Field. In their last outing, the Bobcats fell to Central Connecticut, 3-2, on Sept. 27.

Scouting the Bulldogs
Bryant has compiled a 2-6 overall record so far this season with a 0-1 mark in the NEC. The Bulldogs were most recently shut out, 2-0, by CCSU on Oct. 2. Freshman forward Morgan Derick leads the team with five points (two goals, one assist). Senior goalkeeper Katie Mitchell has started seven games in net for the Bulldogs, recording a .712 save percentage.

Last Time Against the Bulldogs
The Bobcats and the Bulldogs have met just once before during the 2008 season on Oct. 29. After 89 minutes of scoreless play, Bryant's Brooke Duchaney headed the ball over Quinnipiac goalkeeper Jillian Kelley (Simsbury, Conn.) for the 1-0 victory. Kelley picked up four saves in the match, while Amber Sidoti (Farmington, Conn.) led all players in shots with three.

Very Fine
Rookie forward Kemesha Woodfine (Stamford, Conn.) scored her first collegiate goal in the match-up against Central Connecticut. In the 86th minute of play, the freshman positioned herself in front of the net during a Bobcat corner kick and tipped the ball past the Blue Devils' keeper after it landed amongst chaos in the scorer's box.

Five for Furtuna
Sophomore Furtuna Velaj (Stamford, Conn.) recorded her fifth goal of the year in the game against Central, opening up the scoring for the Bobcats. After a CCSU foul inside the scorer's box in the 33rd minute of play, Velaj set up for a penalty kick that she ripped into the left side for the goal. The forward continues to lead the NEC in goals (5), goals per game (0.71) and points per game (1.86). She ranks second in the conference in points with 13.

A Dish from Donovan
Senior Susan Donovan (Cork, Ireland) picked up her first point of the 2009 season against the Blue Devils. The forward set up the corner kick and booted a perfect arc into the scorer's box that was picked up by Woodfine for the goal. The assist was the 13th of her career, boosting her into sixth place all-time in the program's history.

Sister Act
Sophomore forward Kristina Del Mistro (East Williston, N.Y.) will see a familiar face out on the field on Sunday. Her older sister, Steph Del Mistro, is a junior defender for the Bulldogs. The two played against each other once before in last year's game, where Steph picked up an assist on the lone goal of the match.

Their Goal is Goals
Quinnipiac currently ranks third out of 11 teams in the NEC in goals-per-game with 1.43. The Bobcats have scored ten goals in seven games, playing two less games than the teams ranked ahead of them and are just four goals away from matching the top ranked Central Connecticut (14 goals, 1.56 goals/game).