Women's soccer heads to Colorado

BULLDOGS VISIT COLORADO FOR A PAIR OF WEEKEND MATCHES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's soccer team will head to Colorado this weekend for a pair of games against Colorado College and Air Force.

The Bulldogs (3-2) look to get back in the win column this weekend after dropping Monday's contest against URI, 2-1. Bryant will head to Colorado Springs, Colo. for a Friday night showdown with Colorado College (1-1-3) at 6 p.m. EST before heading to Air Force (2-1-2) for a matchup with the Falcons on Sunday at 2 p.m. EST.

Last time out, the Bulldogs lost, 2-1, to cross-state foe URI on Sunday afternoon. The Rams struck first in the tenth minute when sophomore Lucy Gildein collected a rebound off of Bryant keeper Lauren Viverito (Dayton, N.J.) to put home her second goal of the season, giving URI the early 1-0 advantage. Despite four shots on goal in the opening half, the Bulldogs were unable to tally a score.

In the 53rd minute, senior Ashley Evangelista tallied the second score of the game for the Rams and her second of the season. Evangelista received the pass from Gildein and fired a strike from the top of the box to beat Viverito, doubling the URI advantage to 2-0.

In the 70^th minute Bryant responded when sophomore Katy Biagi (Natick, Mass.) received the ball off a cross and delivered a quick pass to Alex Bengston (Andover, Mass.) in front of the goal for her second score of the season, cutting the URI lead in half. However, the lone goal would not be enough to overcome the Ram lead, giving the Bulldogs their second loss of the season.

Looking forward to weekend play, the Black and Gold begin their road trip with a visit to Colorado College on Friday evening (6 p.m. EST). Sophomore Jessie Ayers leads the Tigers with five points (2g, 1a) on 18 shots through five games thus far. Freshman goalkeeper Kate Scheele has been solid in net, allowing only six goals and tallying two shutouts in her first action at the collegiate level.

"Colorado College is a very good team," said Bryant head coach Chris Flint. "They've played a tough schedule thus far and been competitive in all the games, and like I mentioned to the team, they are probably our toughest opponent to date."

The Tigers were ranked 41st in the TopDrawerSoccer.com preseason top 64 and two of their five opponents are currently ranked in the top 50 (Denver, BYU).

Bryant will conclude its road trip against Air Force on Sunday at 2 p.m. EST.

"Air force is another good team," added Flint. "They are very athletic and I expect them to be another great challenge."

The Falcons played NEC opponent Fairleigh Dickinson to a 0-0 tie earlier in the year in one of junior goalkeeper Kelly Stambaugh's four shutouts this season. Stambaugh has only allowed two goals through five games this year, in a season that has included three double overtime matches.

For links to streaming video and live stats of this weekend's games and all the latest information on Bryant University women's soccer, visit BryantBulldogs.com