Women's Soccer Opens 2010 Season At Army on Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 PM

Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010- 1 p.m.
Quinnipiac University at Lehigh University
Ullrich Sports Complex- Bethlehem, Pa.

2010 Opening Weekend
The Quinnipiac University women's soccer team opens the 2010 regular season on the road with two non-conference games against the Army Black Knights and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.

Scouting The Black Knights
Army (2-1-0) will face the Bobcats this Friday, Sept. 3 after having played three regular season games. The Black Knights lost their season opener, 1-0, on Friday, Aug. 20 against Sacred Heart. Army then went on to defeat Central Connecticut State, 1-0, on Thursday, Aug. 26 and Delaware, 1-0, on Saturday Aug. 28. Army is led by senior goalkeeper Alex Lostetter, who posted her first shutout of the season in Saturday's game against Delaware. Freshman Molly McGuigan leads the Army defense and recently scored her first collegiate goal against Delaware. The Black Knights finished last season at 7-10-2. Army posted a 2-4-1 record in the Patriot League and was chosen to finish seventh out of eight teams in the 2010 Patriot League Women's Soccer Preseason Poll.

All-Time Against Army
Friday's match-up against the Black Knights will be the first time the two teams face off in school history.

A Look At The Lehigh University Mountain Hawks
Lehigh (0-1-0) opened the regular season last Friday, Aug. 27 with a 1-1 tie against Syracuse. Lehigh returns 18 players this season, with goalkeeper Lauren Mains leading the defense. The senior captain made a career-high 13 saves in the team's season-opener against Syracuse. The Mountain Hawks were picked to finish fifth out of eight teams in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, after finishing last season 9-4-5 and 3-2-2 in the league.

Previous Play Against Lehigh
The Bobcats will face the Mountain Hawks this Sunday after playing Lehigh last season, on Sept. 13, 2009. The game resulted in a Lehigh win over Quinnipiac, 2-0. Quinnipiac forward, Furtuna Velaj (Stamford, Conn.) led the game with six shots, while goalkeeper Kendra Margulies (Weston, Mass.) had a career-high 13 saves in the game. Overall, Quinnipiac posts a record of 0-5 against Lehigh since 2003, with two games going to overtime.

2010 Northeast Conference Preseason Poll
The Quinnipiac University women's soccer team was picked to finish fourth out of 11 teams, in the 2010 Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Bobcats finished last season 7-3-1 in the conference, which secured a spot for the Bobcats in the 2009 NEC Tournament.

Tournament Bound
Quinnipiac finished last season at 8-7-2 overall, including a 7-3-1 record in the Northeast Conference, which helped the Bobcats clinch the third seed in the NEC tournament. Last season's postseason appearance was the Bobcats first since 2004.

Returning A Solid Squad
The Bobcats will return several players from last season, including senior captain Meagan McLoughlin (Rocky Hill, Conn.). A defensive midfielder, McLoughlin started every game for the Bobcats last season, tallying two goals and one assist. Offensive standout Furtuna Velaj (Stamford, Conn.) returns after an impressive season, leading the team in goals (11), assists (8), points (30), game winning goals (3) and shots (80). The junior forward was recognized within the Northeast Conference, receiving several honors, including a spot on the 2009 All-Conference First Team, for a consecutive year. Sophomore Jillian Strassner (Avon, Conn.), also earned a spot on the conference's First Team and was named 2009 NEC Rookie of the Year. Junior midfielder Kristina Del Mistro (East Williston, N.Y.), another offensive threat, was named to the 2009 NEC All-Tournament Team. In addition, assistant captain, Jillian Kelley (Simsbury, Conn.), will return in net, after missing last season due to injury.

Incoming Players Look To Make An Impact
Freshmen defenders Taylor Healey (Milford, Conn.), Rebecca Kiting (Canberra, Australia) and center midfielder Aine McKeever (Derry City, Ireland) join the Bobcats this fall. Also entering her first season for Quinnipiac is sophomore Chiharu Naito (Oneonta, N.Y.). A midfielder, Naito joins the Bobcats after a successful season at New Jersey Institute of Technology, where she was named the Team Rookie of the Year.

The Schedule In September
The Bobcats play seven games in September. After this weekend's road trip, the Bobcats return to play their home-opener against Siena on Friday, Sept. 10 at 4 p.m. followed by an away game on Sunday, Sept. 12 at Holy Cross at 2 p.m. Non-conference play continues on home turf, as the Bobcats face Dartmouth on Friday, Sept. 17 at 3 p.m. and Rhode Island on Sunday, Sept. 19 at 12 p.m. Quinnipiac plays their first conference match against in-state rival, Central Connecticut State, on Sunday, Sept. 26 at 12 p.m. at the Quinnipiac Soccer Field.

Conference Play Takes Off
Quinnipiac will play ten games in October. The first two match-ups are away against Wagner on Friday Oct. 1 at 2 p.m., followed by Long Island, on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. The Bobcats then return home for games against Monmouth on Friday, Oct. 8 at 3:30 p.m. and Mount St. Mary's on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 12 p.m. Quinnipiac heads to Saint Francis (Pa.) on Friday Oct. 15 at 4 p.m., followed by games at Robert Morris on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. and Bryant on Friday, Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. The Bobcats then play a non-conference game at Harvard on Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. The regular season comes to an end as the Bobcats face Sacred Heart on Friday, Oct. 29 at 2 p.m. and Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 12 p.m. at home.