October 14, 2010 CHESHIRE, Conn. - The Quinnipiac University women's soccer team volunteered at the Fall 2010 Middle School Unified Sports Soccer Tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 12 sponsored by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) and Special Olympics Connecticut. This is the eleventh consecutive year that the team has helped out at this event. The program earned the "Be a Fan" award this past summer for their continued support.

"Having my team help out at Unified Sports is one of the things I look forward to the most as a coach at Quinnipiac," said Head Coach Dave Clarke. "My players get a first hand appreciation for what they have as athletes and to see them give back to the game does the program proud."

The tournament took place at the Quinnipiac Park in Cheshire, Conn. The Bobcats assisted the participants at the event and served as referees, as well as took score and kept the time for each game.

"The Special Olympics is always a great experience and it really makes the team appreciate all that we have, said senior Lauren Peacock (Hopedale, Mass.) "Watching these kids play soccer and seeing the excitement they get from simply being on the field, puts everything into perspective for us and makes us realize that we can't take our soccer experiences for granted."

"I've been volunteering with Dave since I was 16, and I look forward to it every year," said senior Meagan McLoughlin (Rocky Hill, Conn). "It's something that means so much to these children and I'm glad we can be a part of it."

The Quinnipiac women's soccer team returns to action this weekend when they travel to Saint Francis (Pa.) on Friday, Oct. 15 and Robert Morris on Sunday, Oct. 17. The games are scheduled to begin at 4:00 and 1:00 p.m., respectively.