Nov. 12, 2009

DAYTON, Ohio -

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The Marquette women's soccer team will make its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament Friday, Nov. 13 at No. 15 Dayton. The Golden Eagles (15-5-2) will kickoff against the Flyers (16-0-5) at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT at Baujan Field. Live stats will be available via Game Tracker.

The Golden Eagles earned one of 34 at-large bids, with the other 30 spots awarded to teams who won their conference tournament. Marquette is one of seven BIG EAST teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament, as Villanova, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Rutgers, St. John's and Connecticut are also among the 64 teams vying for the National Championship. It's the most teams the conference has sent to the NCAA Tournament since 2006 and one team shy of the record eight set in 2001.

The Golden Eagles are coming off a regular season in which it went 15-5-2 and won the BIG EAST American Division Title. MU started league play 1-2-1 before going on a seven-game unbeaten streak that included six wins, en route to the regular season title. Behind the No. 1 American Division seed, the Golden Eagles advanced to the title game of the BIG EAST Tournament where they dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to Notre Dame. Marquette has registered double-digit wins for the 14th consecutive season and is appearing in its eighth NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles have earned NCAA Tournament berths in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009.

Marquette's attack is led by sophomore forward Rachael Sloan, an All-BIG EAST First Team selection, who is the team leader in scoring with 19 points on seven goals and five assists. A testament to the depth of the team, MU has seen 14 total players score at least one goal, and 20 players see action in 15 or more games. In goal, sophomore Natalie Kulla, a second team All-BIG EAST selection, boasts a program record 15 shutouts and a 0.53 goals against average.

In the latest national polls released this week, the Golden Eagles are ranked No. 25 by the NSCAA, No. 10 by Soccer America and No. 21 by Soccer Times. Dayton, the 2009 Atlantic 10 Conference champion, is one of two unbeaten teams in the nation. Heading into its first round game with Marquette, the Flyers are riding a 21-game unbeaten streak that includes five straight wins. Offensively, the Flyers boast three players who have scored 20 or more points this season as Lauren MacCormick (9g, 6a) and Mandi Back (8g, 8a) lead the team with 24 points apiece. Colleen Williams follows with 23 points on seven goals and nine assists. Overall, Dayton has outscored its opponents, 48-7.

In goal, Katherine Boone has seen all of 223 minutes in net posting 12 shutouts and allowing six goals. She boasts the nation's second-best goals against average at .312.

The Flyers stand at No. 23 in the NSCAA poll, No. 15 in the Soccer America poll and No. 24 according to Soccer Times.

The other two teams in the bracket are Virginia Tech (14-7-0), who earned an at-large berth out of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and Murray State (11-8-2), an automatic qualifier from the Ohio Valley Conference. The Hokies and Racers will play on Friday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT. The winners of the two first round matches will play Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT.

Marquette is 2-3 all-time against the Flyers. The two teams last met on Aug. 31, 2003 as part of the Milwaukee Cup Tournament where UD topped MU, 1-0. The Golden Eagles have never played Murray St. or Virginia Tech.