Oct. 12, 2006

Providence, R.I. -- The Providence College women's soccer team (3-5-5, 0-5-2 BIG EAST) hopes to close out the home portion of BIG EAST schedule on a high note when it hosts DePaul (3-9-2, 0-6-1 BIG EAST) on Friday, October 13, and No. 1 Notre Dame (13-0-0, 6-0-0 BIG EAST) on Sunday, October 15, at Glay Field. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. on Friday and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Fighting Irish will play at Connecticut on Friday night prior to its Sunday matinee with the Friars which will be televised locally on Cox Sports Television and broadcast via tape delay on Sunday night at 5:00 p.m., shortly after the conclusion of the contest.

The Friars are coming off a tough, 3-2, loss to St. John's on Sunday, October 8. Despite holding a 1-0 lead at the half, PC dropped a heartbreaker to the Red Storm on Senior Day at Glay Field. The Friars trailed, 3-1, with less than nine minutes remaining when senior Leah Vieira (Rochester, N.Y.) appeared to score two goals in the span of less than two minutes to tie the game. The second goal, however, was disallowed because the Friars were offside and the Red Storm held on for the 3-2 win. Junior goalkeeper Laura Elfers (Deer Park, N.Y.) made four saves for the Friars. So far this season, she owns a 0.92 goals against average and a .848 save percentage. Offensively, junior Ashley Amaral (Cumberland, R.I.) and freshman Jill Camburn (Doylestown, Pa.) lead the Friars in scoring with two goals and one assist apiece.

The Friars and Blue Demons have only met once before, and DePaul came away with a 3-2 win on October 14, 2005, in Chicago. Providence took a 2-1 lead at the half, but DePaul answered with two goals midway through the second half for the come-from-behind victory. Christine Gent (Plantation, Fla.) assisted on both goals for the Friars and Ashley Fedyshyn (Lincroft, N.J.) made 10 saves in goal.

The Friars and Fighting Irish have met 10 times and Notre Dame has won all 10 meetings. Providence has only managed to score one goal against the Irish (a 5-1 defeat on 9/3/00). The closest match in the series came back in 1992 when Notre Dame downed PC, 1-0. Last season, the Friars suffered a 6-0 defeat in South Bend.