October 13, 2011

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Quinnipiac Women’s Soccer Homepage
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Northeast Conference Women’s Soccer Standings
Complete Game Notes in PDF

Friday, October 14, 2011 – 3 p.m.
Quinnipiac University vs. Long Island University
Quinnipiac Soccer Field – Hamden, Conn.

Sunday, October 16, 2011 – 12 p.m.
Quinnipiac University vs. Wagner College
Quinnipiac Soccer Field – Hamden, Conn.

Bobcats Continue NEC Play At Home
The Quinnipiac women’s soccer team hosts Northeast Conference games against Long Island (6-7, 3-2-0 NEC) on Friday, Oct. 14 at 3 p.m. and Wagner College (8-4-2, 2-3-0 NEC) on Sunday, Oct. 16 at Noon at the Quinnipiac Soccer Field in Hamden, Conn. The Bobcats enter the weekend at 3-6-1 overall and 2-2 in conference action.

Multimedia        
Live stats and audio will be available and can be accessed by visiting the Official Website of Quinnipiac Athletics, www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com.

Scouting Long Island
Long Island enters Friday’s match-up at 3-2 in the NEC after winning two straight conference games against Bryant, 4-1, and Wagner, 2-1. Ariana Calderon leads the Blackbirds with 16 points and four assists. Calderon and Jen Spicer have each scored six goals this season, while Spicer ranks second on the team in points (13). Twelve different Blackbirds have put up at least one point on the year. Additionally, Long Island goalie Jennifer Bannon has made 44 saves and allowed 16 goals across 12 appearances in net.

All-Time Against The Blackbirds
Quinnipiac holds an all-time record of 6-6-2 with Long Island. The Bobcats lead the series at home, 4-2. Last season, Quinnipiac tied the Blackbirds, 0-0, in double overtime at LIU. 

Scouting Wagner
The Seahawks will play NEC opponent Central Connecticut State on Friday, Oct. 14 prior to travelling to Hamden, Conn. to face the Bobcats. In its most recent outing, Wagner lost an NEC contest to Long Island, 2-1. Wagner junior Julie Vigliotti and sophomore Jackie Nicholas have each scored a team-high five goals in 2011. Vigliotti leads the team with 14 points and four assists, while Nicholas has picked up 11 points and an assist this season. Juniors Monica Zurich and Alyssa Grecco have tallied seven and points, respectively. Sophomore keeper Kate Marcy has started in each of her 13 appearances in goal for Wagner. Marcy has totaled 77 saves and allowed 13 goals this year.

All-Time Against The Seahawks
Quinnipiac leads the all-time series with Wagner, 7-3-2. In its most recent meeting, the Bobcats tied the Seahawks, 1-1 in two overtime periods on Oct. 1, 2010 at Wagner.

Last Time Out
In its most recent outing, Quinnipiac fell, 3-0, to NEC foe Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sunday, Oct. 9 at the Quinnipiac Soccer Field.

Ready For Robert Morris
Quinnipiac picked up a win in league action when it defeated Robert Morris, 3-2, on Friday, Oct. 7. Quinnipiac senior Kristina Del Mistro led the Bobcats with two goals, including the game winner, while sophomore Aine McKeever also notched a goal for Quinnipiac. Senior Chelsea Smith and juniors Crystal Burns and Shauna Edwards each tallied an assist against the Colonials. Senior goalkeeper Jill Kelley earned her third victory of the season with the win.

Leading Ladies
Velaj currently leads the Bobcats with 11 points, five goals and an assist. In addition, Shauna Edwards, Beck Kiting and Kristina Del Mistro have each notched two goals this season. Edwards is ranked second in points (7) and leads Quinnipiac with three assists.

Reaching For 100
Senior Furtuna Velaj currently posts 91 career points. Velaj has picked up 11 points this season, while she put up 19 points in her junior year. The forward also tallied 30 points in 2009 and 31 points as a freshman.

Del Mistro’s A Danger
Senior midfielder Kristina Del Mistro led the Bobcats’ offense against Robert Morris on Friday as she scored her first two goals of the season, including the game-winning goal to lift the Bobcats to a 3-2 NEC win. Del Mistro has collected a total of five points this year.

Luck of the Irish
Quinnipiac defender Aine McKeever scored her first goal of her sophomore season in the team’s victory over Robert Morris. McKeever has collected 10 career points in total.

Keeping Up With Kelley
Senior goalie Jill Kelley has started in net in each of the Bobcats’ 10 games this year. Kelley has made 45 saves on the season and posts a 3-6-1 record. She also earned a shutout against Holy Cross, 1-0, earlier this season.

NEC Standings
After three weeks of conference play, the Bobcats (2-2 NEC) find themselves in the fifth slot in the NEC standings, alongside Robert Morris, Mount St. Mary’s and Wagner, with six points. Monmouth is currently ranked first with 12 points, while St. Francis (Pa.) follows with 10 points. Long Island sits in the third position with nine points, while Sacred Heart has seven points in fourth place. Quinnipiac still has six more conference games to play in the 2011 regular season.

Notes From The NEC
Furtuna Velaj is currently ranked second amongst conference players in shots per game (3.8) and is tied for 10^th in points with 11 points on the year. Additionally, Velaj is tied for the 6^th slot in goals with five goals. Jill Kelley ranks seventh in the NEC in saves per game (4.5) and eighth in saves with 45 saves overall.

ESPN.com Features Furtuna
Earlier this season, Furtuna Velaj was recognized in an article written by ESPN.com’s Graham Hays. The article features the Santa Clara University starting goalkeeper and 10 NCAA Division I women’s soccer players, whom hays feels will have a great potential to make an impact this season. Last year, Hays also wrote a feature, “From refugee to soccer star,” on Velaj’s journey from her native Kosovo to the United States, as well as her future aspirations in political science following her collegiate career. She was also named a top potential draft pick and one of the top collegiate women forwards in the country by www.AllWhiteKit.com.

NEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll
The Quinnipiac University women’s soccer team was picked to finish fifth out of 11 teams, in the 2011 Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Bobcats finished last season 7-7-4 overall and at 5-2-3 in conference play, which secured a spot for the Quinnipiac in the 2010 NEC Tournament.

Northeast Conference 2011 Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll  
1.    Saint Francis (PA) (8)   
2.    Monmouth (2)
3.    Long Island
4.    Central Connecticut St. (1)
5.    Quinnipiac
6.    Sacred Heart
7.    Bryant
8.    Robert Morris
9.    Wagner
10.   Mount Saint Mary’s
11.   Fairleigh Dickinson
First place votes in parentheses ( ).

What’s Ahead for the Bobcats
Quinnipiac will travel to Monmouth on Oct. 21, Mount St. Mary’s on Oct. 23 and Central Connecticut State on Oct. 28, before hosting Bryant on Oct. 30 for the final game of the regular season.

Contact: Lindsay Oliveri, lmoliveri@quinnipiac.edu