Sept. 2, 2006

Providence, R.I. -- The Providence College women's soccer team (1-0-2) hopes to remain undefeated on the young 2006 season when it hosts New Hampshire (1-1) on Sunday, September 3, at Glay Field. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. The Friars are coming off a 0-0 draw with Fairfield on Friday, September 1. Providence had two excellent chances to score, but was unlucky and hit the crossbar twice. With 37:05 remaining in the second half, sophomore Kelly Petterson (Massapequa, N.Y.) nearly found the back of the net, but drew iron instead. Providence had another excellent chance with 14:49 left in the second half when junior Danielle Wieneke (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) fired a shot that also hit the crossbar. While the Stags outshot the Friars in the first half by a 7-3 margin, PC put the pressure on in the second half and held a 9-5 advantage in shots. In the first overtime, each team had two shots, and in the second extra frame Fairfield fired off two shots. Overall, the Stags held a 16-14 edge in shots. In goal, Providence junior Laura Elfers (Deer Park, N.Y.) made six saves to earn the shutout. Earlier in the week on August 30, the Friars picked up their first victory of the season with an exciting 2-1 win over intrastate rival Rhode Island.

The Wildcats fell to 1-1 on the season after dropping a 3-2 decision to Brown on Friday, September 1. Brown held a quick 1-0 advantage early in the contest as Lindsay Cunningham received a perfect feed from Jill Mansfield to tally her first goal of the season. UNH answered with two straight goals in the following minutes. Midfielder Caitlyn Serafine registered her first goal on a penalty kick to even the score during the 15th minute. The Wildcats took the lead in the 24th minute when forward Michelle Sheehan found Sarah Hourihan who found the back of the net for her first goal of the 2006 campaign. The Bears, however, managed to finish the first half strong when Mica Baynard scored via a double assist by teammates Bridget Ballard and Jill Mansfield during the 36th minute. The Bears used the momentum throughout the second half and scored the gamewinner in the 77th minute of action from Ballard. Brown held the advantage in shots, 22-10, and UNH goalkeeper Lynn Gugliuzza posted eight saves in the loss. UNH's victory came against Massachusetts on August 26. The Wildcats blanked UMass, 2-0, behind goals from Marianne Rivard and Katie Lutar. Gugliuzza made four saves in goal for UNH to earn the shutout.

The Friars and Wildcats have met 21 times with UNH holding a 12-6-3 advantage in the all-time series. New Hampshire has gone 2-0-1 in the last three meetings, but Providence won the three games in the series before that. In last season's game in Durham, the Wildcats defeated the Friars, 2-0. Providence's last win in the series came on October 6, 2002, when it downed New Hampshire, 2-1, at Glay Field.