Weekly Notes  

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle women's soccer team will face their stiffest test of the non-conference season thus far as they travel to Northeastern and Albany this weekend. 

The Explorers (2-0-1) are coming off their most impressive performance after their 4-0 romp over Rider on Sunday afternoon at McCarthy Stadium.

Freshman Kelsey Haycook burst onto the scene with two goals, both coming in the opening 13 minutes of action against the Broncs.  Fellow freshmam Maryam Huseini also chipped in with her first collegiate goal later in the first half.  

Courtney Niemiec capped off the scoring for La Salle in the second half.  Morgan Golden also added two assists in the win.  

On the back line La Salle has been equally as impressive, posting three shutouts through their first three games of the season as the team is answering critics who questioned the defense during the preseason.

Redshirt senior Melissa Sanger has kept things in check, as she continues to climb up the all-time La Salle goalkeeper list in shutouts (13) and wins (22) and is currently ranked second in both categories. In the conference, Sanger leads all goalkeepers with three shutouts and a perfect save percentage.

Also defensivley, a strong back four anchored by preseason all-conference selection Jess Hopton, Ashley Chilcoat, Diana Allen and Courtney Niemiec continue to improve as the Explorers' defense progresses into one of the best in the Atlantic 10.  

La Salle's first opponent this weekend, Northeastern, started out the season wtih a bang knocking off regional rival UConn in the season opener.  Since, the Huskies (2-3) have fallen off a bit and are looking to snap a two-game losing streak after dropping both of their matches to Clemson and South Carolina on the road last weekend.  

The Explorers and Huskies have never met on the women's soccer pitch.

Albany won their last match at Iona 1-0 on Wednesday afternoon but they have also had their struggles to start the season.  Prior to their win against the Gaels, the Great Danes (2-2) dropped matches to St. John's and Hofstra by a combined score of 7-0. 

Albany leads the all-time series 1-0 after a victory last season at McCarthy Stadium.  


Game Capsules:

La Salle at Northeastern
Friday, September 9, 2011 - 6 p.m.
Parsons Field - Boston, Ma.
Live Stats  ||  Live Video ||  Live Audio

La Salle at Albany
Sunday, September 11, 2011 - Noon
Varsity Field - Albany, N.Y.
Live Stats

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