Oct. 4, 2007

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall women's soccer team will finish its five-game road trip with the start of Conference USA play on Friday in Orlando, Fla., against the University of Central Florida. The Herd will then travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., on Sunday to face the University of Southern Mississippi.

"The team is excited about the possibilities with the upcoming C-USA season beginning," Marshall head coach Chris Kane says. "We are looking to begin with a good start this weekend."

Since Marshall's inaugural season in the C-USA, the Herd and the Knights have matched-up both years with UCF leading the series, 2-0. In last year's meeting, the Knights took the win, 0-4, at Sam Hood Field. Marshall's sophomore forward Julia Axelsson (Vaxjo, Sweden) led the Herd with two shots, with one being placed on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Liz Orton (Fort Collins, Colo.) tallied nine saves despite the defeat.

In the past four years, the Herd and the Golden Eagles have competed three times and Marshall leads the series, 2-1, with the Herd winning last year 1-0, at Sam Hood Field. Senior forward Kassie Hollman (Marietta, Ga.) recorded the lone goal in the C-USA match-up and also tallied seven shots, two being placed on goal.

"We need to keep focusing on the positives and the potential we have as a team," coach Kane adds. "The girls have adopted a new motto: everyone remembers how you finish, not how you started."

Marshall will compete against the Knights (5-2-2) (0-0) on Friday, Oct. 5, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Then the Herd will challenge the Golden Eagles (5-5-0) (0-0) on Sunday, Oct. 7, with a 1 p.m. central time kickoff with GameTracker available at http://southernmiss.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/sched/smis-w-soccer-sched.html.

Herd fans can check out and purchase photos from the 2007 women's soccer season at http://herdsportsphotos.exposuremanager.com/ under "2007 Women's Soccer."