Sept. 5, 2008

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette women's soccer team will close out its early season five-match homestand Saturday when BYU pays a visit to Valley Fields. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.

Marquette (3-1-0) will be looking to bounce back from its 1-0 loss to Wis.-Milwaukee Wednesday night. The Golden Eagles out-shot the Panthers 15-5, but were unsuccessful converting any of their chances. Through its first four games of the season, Marquette has owned an 82-18 shots advantage with 31 of those attempts on goal.

"Although local fans may not be aware of Brigham Young, they are an excellent squad. They are among the nation's elite group of teams and it will be great to play them at Valley Fields. BYU is another team that won its conference last year and played in the NCAA Tournament. These games are important for us as we challenge ourselves against a top-notch non-conference team and prepare for the BIG EAST slate.

Regardless of the loss on Wednesday, Roeders remains optimistic about his team's progression and the goal-scoring opportunities that are being created.

"The result on Wednesday was disappointing, but we played some of our best soccer of the year. We have to add the finishing touches and put the ball in the back of the net. Our training has been good and the ladies will be excited to finish off our early season home slate before we go on the road."

The Cougars' (3-2-0) match with the Golden Eagles Saturday night will mark the fourth road match they have played already this season. In its last time out, BYU dropped a 4-1 decision at William & Mary on Thursday. The Cougars are ranked No. 26 by Soccer Buzz and received votes in this week's NSCAA poll.

MAC Herman Award candidate Katie Larkin leads BYU with seven points on three goals and one assist, while Kassidy Christinsen has registered five points on two goals and one assist. In goal, Aleena Shelton has seen the majority of minutes and has recorded a goals against average of 0.80.

Last season, BYU won its fourth Mountain West Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.

"BYU has several high powered players with Katie Larkin, a forward, leading the way. She competed with Allison Mallams on the U23 National Team this past spring. They are a complete team so we have to be aware and continue our improvement from game-to-game," said Roeders.