Women's Soccer Hosts St. Francis (PA) In Final Regular Season Game

Capping It Off
The Bobcats will be honoring their seven graduating seniors in a pregame ceremony on the field. Justine Lombardi (Enfield, Conn.), Olivia Kravitz (Canton, Conn.), Lindsay Oliveri (Waltham, Mass.), Amber Sidoti (Farmington, Conn.), Susan Donovan (Cork, Ireland), Kara Barrepski (Ellington, Conn.), and Johanne Walleck (South Glastonbury, Conn.) all will be recognized in the pregame festivities.

Scouting the Red Flash
St. Francis (PA) has compiled an 8-5-2 record thus far this season, and holds a 5-2 record in the NEC, good for fifth place. In their last outing, the Red Flash dropped a 5-1 contest to league-leader Central Connecticut on Oct. 30. St. Francis (PA) needs to earn the win against the Bobcats to advance to the conference tournament. Senior forward Rachel Seibert leads the team offensively with 20 points (8 goals, 4 assists). Senior goalkeeper Jessica Boyer has seen action in 12 games this season for the Red Flash, and posts a .849 save percentage with a 1.14 goals-against average.

All-Time Against St. Francis (PA)
The Bobcats post a 4-3-3 record against the Red Flash since the teams' first meeting on Oct. 17, 1999. In the past three seasons, Quinnipiac and St. Francis (PA) have played to a tie, with back-to-back scoreless draws in the past two seasons. The Bobcats hold a 3-1-1 advantage over the Red Flash on their home turf.

Postseason Chatter
With its 3-0 victory against Robert Morris on Oct. 30, Quinnipiac secured the third place ranking in the Northeast Conference with 19 points. Central Connecticut holds the top billing, currently unbeaten in conference play with 25 points. Monmouth ranks second place with a 7-1-1 record in the NEC with 22 points. The fourth team will be decided after Sunday's games, with seven possible scenarios determining the outcome of the fourth seed. All possibilities can be seen at the Northeast Conference Tournament link above.

Hat Toss
Sophomore Furtuna Velaj (Stamford, Conn.) recorded the third hat trick of her career and her second against Robert Morris in the Bobcats 3-0 victory at the Quinnipiac Soccer Field on Oct. 30. The forward's first tally came in the 18th minute of play on a free kick opportunity, where she fired a shot from 25-yards out that the Robert Morris goalkeeper punched off the crossbar and into the net. Her second goal came off an ideal assist from freshmen Jillian Strassner (Avon, Conn.) and Shauna Edwards (Southington, Conn.). Strassner carried the ball up the right sideline where she crossed a pass in front of the net; Edwards tipped the ball even further, beating the goalkeeper where Velaj ran in to take the final tap up into the net for the 2-0 lead. Her final goal came on her second penalty kick of the match, and her fourth in three games. Velaj rifled the kick into the right side of the net for the goal. The sophomore ranks first on the team in goals (11), assists (8) and points (30).

Time-Share
Freshman Biz Cook (Appleton, Wis.) and junior Kendra Margulies (Weston, Mass.) split time in net for the Bobcats on Oct. 30, to earn the collective shutout for the team. Cook played the majority of the game, recording 79 minutes in net and posting eight saves, including an incredible one-armed stop on a Colonials' bullet from inside the 18-yard box. Margulies stepped in with ten minutes remaining in the game, seeing her first appearance since Sept. 27 at Central Connecticut.

A One-Two Punch
Freshmen Strassner and Edwards each picked up an assist in Friday's 3-0 win against Robert Morris. In the 2-0 goal by the Bobcats, Strassner dribbled the ball up the right sideline before encountering a Colonials' defender and crossing the ball across the face of the net. Edwards collected the pass and continued the cross to Velaj, beating the goalkeeper. Velaj finished the play when she lifted the ball upwards into the net for the score. The assist was Strassner's third of the year, while Edwards picked up her second on the season.