Golden Eagles to Play for Second American Division Championship

Oct. 21, 2010

MILWAUKEE - The No. 16 Marquette women's soccer team will look to capture its second straight BIG EAST American Division Championship this weekend when it plays host to Syracuse and St. John's at Valley Fields.

The Golden Eagles will play the Orange, Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m., and closeout the regular season against the Red Storm, Sunday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. Marquette will honor its eight seniors Lauren Acree, Ashley Bares, Kristi Laurenzi, Amanda Longo, Rosie Malone-Povolny, Lauren Thut, Stephanie Vasos and Julia Victor, in a special pre-game ceremony prior to its match against the Orange.

"Of course, our team wants to finish the season on a high note," said head coach Markus Roeders. "We showed a lot of character and fire power last weekend, and I think we addressed our mistakes this past week. Hopefully they won't happen again. Friday night will be special since we are at Valley Fields under the lights, another BIG EAST match and Senior Night. We want to send the seniors off the right way, but Syracuse will be a tough opponent. They are a young squad who has gotten better throughout the season. They may not score a lot of goals, but the play attractive soccer and their defense has been stingy as of late. Last year, we played a good match there and came through at the end. We have some work to be done and I don't think our squad will lack any motivation playing Friday."

Marquette moved up a few spots in this week's national rankings to No. 16 in both the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and Soccer America polls. The Golden Eagles stand in first place in the American Division with 27 points and need just one win to clinch the division championship for the second straight season. The Golden Eagles are a perfect 9-0-0 in BIG EAST play following a 4-0 shutout of Cincinnati and a 4-3 come-from-behind effort against Louisville in overtime. They are one win shy of locking up their second consecutive BIG?EAST?American Division Championship and a No. 1 seed in the BIG?EAST Championship.

The Golden Eagles are in familiar territory as they played Sryacuse and St. John's in their final weekend of the 2009 regular season and won both games, 1-0, to claim their first ever American Division title. Marquette owns a 9-0-1 combined record against the Orange and Red Storm.

Syracuse (6-7-5, 3-4-2 BIG EAST) currently sits in a tie for fifth place in the BIG EAST standings with Providence and is still in the hunt for a berth in the BIG EAST Conference Tournament which begins Oct. 28. Syracuse's conference wins include three 1-0 victories over Providence, St. John's and Rutgers. Tina Romagnuolo and and Megan Bellingham lead the Orange with nine points apiece.

Brittany Anghel, who was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week Monday, has allowed 21 goals this season and owns a 1.29 goals against average.

St. John's (6-8-2, 3-5-1) is also in the mix to secure the final spot for the American Division in the conference tournament after a 1-0-1 weekend with results against Seton Hall (1-0) and Rutgers (0-0). Six members of the Red Storm have accounted for its 10 goals this season, led by Amy Marron wit three goals.

Kristin Russell has seen action in all 16 games this season. She has registered seven shutouts, 67 saves and 1.00 goals against average.

"St. John's is still tough and they will play soccer. Their young players have come along quickly and they are seasoned. This time of year, freshmen aren't really freshmen any more. By now everybody knows what to do and what it takes to win games. We have so much to play for now and for what is ahead of us. This team won't allow itself any letdowns because they know what is at stake. We hope for a lot of fans this weekend because our group is special and plays entertaining soccer," said Roeders.