Women's Soccer Opens 2012 Season Friday at St. John's; Hosts UNH in Home Opener on Sunday

Friday, August 31

7 pm

Brown University

1-0-0

St. John''s

2-3-0

Brown

St. John's

Women's Soccer Opens 2012 Season Friday at St. John's; Hosts UNH in Home Opener on Sunday

8/31/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

The Brown women's soccer team is set to begin its 2012 campaign this weekend when it travels to St. John's to face the Red Storm in a 7:00 p.m. contest Friday night. The Bears return home and will host New Hampshire in their 2012 home opener in a 4:30 p.m. contest Sunday afternoon. The first 100 fans at Sunday's game will receive a women's soccer schedule poster, as the Bears host their first opponent on the newly-turfed Stevenson Field.

Brown fans not making the trip to either Queens or Providence for this weekend's games can follow all the action online. St. John's will provide live stats (free) and live video on RedStormSports.com, while Brown will provide video ($8), audio (free) and live stats (free) on BrownBears.com. Links are available on the 2012 women's soccer schedule on Brownbears.com or can be found below.

ABOUT BROWN: The Bears return their top three scorers from last year's team that went 10-5-2 overall and finished 3-3-1 in the Ancient Eight. Senior Eliza Marshall (North Andover, MA) led Brown with 15 points in 2011, scoring a team-high six goals, including two game-winners, while junior Kiersten Berg (Salt Lake City, UT) added 11 points on four goals and three assists. Sophomore Chloe Cross (Seattle, WA), who tallied 4-1-9 totals as a rookie, rounds out the top three scorers from 2011. At the other end of the field, the Bears return the junior goalkeeping tandem of Amber Bledsoe (Cincinnati, OH) and MC Barrett (Ithaca, NY). The duo combined to post a 0.80 GAA and an .854 save percentage, while leading the Bears to seven shutouts. Juniors Mika Siegelman (Piedmont, CA) and Maddie Wiener (Portland, OR) will help to control the midfield, along with classmate Louisa Pitney (Washington, DC) and sophomores Allie Reilly (Lawrenceville, NJ) and Kirsten Belinsky (Los Altos, CA). Defensively, Brown will be led by seniors Diana Ohrt (Simi Valley, CA) and Rachael Pack (Park City, UT) and junior Alison Mullin (Boulder, CO). Brown adds eight newcomers to the team, many of whom have the ability to challenge for playing time immediately.

BROWN vs. ST. JOHN'S
Series Record: First Meeting
Friday, August 31, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Queens, N.Y.
Live Stats
Live Video

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S: The Red Storm (2-2-0) enters Friday night's contest following a 3-0 loss to Stony Brook. St. John's is 2-0 on Friday night games and 2-1 in home contests. After opening the season with a 2-0 victory over George Mason on August 17^th, St. John's lost to Penn State, 5-0, before earning a 2-1 double overtime win over Air Force on August 24^th. Emily Cubbage and Morgan Ritter share the team lead in scoring with three points (1g, 1a) each, while Run Stefansdottir and Hailey Hemmer have also scored one goal. Eileen Conway has played the majority of time in net and has posted a 1.82 GAA with a .722 save percentage to go along with a 1-1-0 record.

BROWN vs. NEW HAMPSHIRE
Series Record: Brown, 8-3-1
Series Began: 1977
Last Meeting: 2011 (Brown, 1-0)
Last UNH Win: 2007 (2-0)
Last Tie: 2010 (2-2)
Sunday, September 2, 2012
4:30 p.m.
Providence, R.I.
Live Stats
Live Video
Live Audio

ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Wildcats, who also play on Friday evening, enter the weekend with a 1-1 record after splitting their games at the TD Bank Vermont Classic. UNH defeated Fairfield, 2-0, in its opening game, before falling to Central Connecticut State, 4-0, in the championship. Kirstyn Corder leads the Wildcats in scoring with three points (1g, 1a), including the game-winning goal against Fairfield, while Meghan Ledwith also scored against the Stags. Erica Correa has played every minute in net entering Friday's game against Northeastern and has a 2.00 GAA with a .667 save percentage, recording eight saves on 12 shots.

THE CAPTAIN: For the second season in a row, the Brown women's soccer program will be led by a single captain. Senior Eliza Marshall (North Andover) was selected by her peers in March to lead the Bears this season. A two-year starter, Marshall was Brown's leading scorer in 2011 with 15 points (6g, 3a), including two game-winning goals, An Honorable Mention All-Ivy honoree in 2011, Marshall was also named Second Team CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District, Academic All-Ivy, and an RIAIAW Distinguished Student-Athlete of the Year.

OPENING DAY: All-time, Brown is 23-13-1 in season openers, most recently earning a 1-0 win over Liberty in the 2011 opening game. The August 31^st opening day marks the first time that Brown has ever opened its season during the month of August. The earliest Brown has opened prior to this season was a September 1^st opening game in 2006.

HOME OPENERS: All-time, Brown is 28-8-1 in home openers, most recently earning a 2-0 win over Providence in the 2011 home opener. New Hampshire has served as Brown's home opening opponent four times, most recently in 2006, when Brown earned a 3-2 victory over the Wildcats.

STEVENSON FIELD: Home to the Brown soccer and lacrosse programs, Stevenson Field was given a makeover this summer with the installation of a FIFA approved artificial playing surface, completed in mid-August.

BEARS ON TV: The Bears will play a nationally televised game this season, when Brown hosts Yale on Thursday, November 1^st, in a 7:00 p.m. contest. The game will air live on the Fox Soccer Channel, marking the first time that an Ivy League women's soccer contest has been broadcast on the network.

UP NEXT: The Bears hit the road for three straight games, facing cross-town rival, Providence, on Thursday at 4:00, before traveling to Vermont (9/8) and Northeastern (9/13). Brown's next home contest is Sunday, September 16^th, when the Bears welcome Sacred Heart to Stevenson Field.

Pictured: Alison Mullin '14. Photo by DSPics.net.