Women Booters to Battle St. Bonaventure and Robert Morris

The four-game home stand continues for the women's soccer team, as the Red (1-0-2, 0-0 Ivy) welcomes St. Bonaventure (5-1) and Robert Morris (0-4-1) to Berman Field this weekend. The booters will face off against the Bonnies tonight at 7 p.m. and will take on the Colonials on Sunday at 11 a.m.

Facing intra-state rival Binghamton on Tuesday night at home, the Red saw its third straight game head to overtime. In the second overtime period, freshman Kelly Kosco took a shot from the middle of the box that was heading for the back of the net, but Binghamton goalie Kristie Bowers made a diving save in the air to preserve the tie. When the game ended minutes later, the booters notched their second scoreless tie of the season, with sophomore goalie Katrina Matlin recorded her second shutout on the year.

While the team has only scored one goal in the young season, several players are battling injuries. Freshmen Dani Haigh and Jackie Stromberg started up top for the Red on Tuesday, while back on defense, classmate Leslie Campbell has played with the maturity of a seasoned veteran.
With only one day of practice to prepare for this weekend's games, the booters need to put the tie behind them, and get ready for a tough stretch ahead, during which they will play three games in six days.

"Tactically, we don't have to do too much. We just need to collect our thoughts. We have played four games in three games." said head coach Berhane Andeberhan, referring to the three overtime games the team has played this season.

St. Bonaventure comes to Ithaca after winning its own tournament, the Adidas Classic, last weekend. In its two games in the tournament, the Bonnies registered 12 goals, while only surrendering two. Tournament MVP Heather MacDougall tied a school record for goals and points scored in a game, netting four goals and an assist. She was named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week for her effort.
MacDougall is second on the team in scoring with eight goals and two assists, while Kerry O'Malley leads the squad with nine goals and six assists. In goal for the Bonnies, Lisa Eberhart has recorded an 0.83 goals against average along with four shutouts.

Robert Morris is still looking for its first win of the season, after losing two of its last three games in overtime. In the consolation game of the 2004 Quality Inn & Suites Classic, the Colonials were outshot by host Charleston 24-1, but freshman goalie Jessica Onufer put up 11 saves before giving up the game-winning goals 30 seconds in the first overtime. Three of the Colonials' netminders have seen considerable time in goal, while its offense has only generated three goals on the year.
The Red will have one more non-conference game this Wednesday against Bucknell, before it opens its Ivy slate next Saturday at Columbia.