Bridgeport Women's Soccer Set For 2011 ECC Championship Tournament

Bridgeport, Conn. - The University of Bridgeport women's soccer team, the nation's number one ranked Division II team, will open the 2011 East Coast Conference Championship Tournament at home on Thursday evening, November 3rd when the Molloy College Lions come to Knights Field for a 6:00 p.m. contest.  Bridgeport, the number one seed in the tournament, comes into Thursday's match with an unblemished 16-0-0 record after defeating Pace (4-0) and Queens (N.Y.) College (3-1) last week, and the Purple Knights went 7-0-0 in conference play during the regular season.  Molloy, the number four seed, went 9-8-0 overall during the regular season and 4-3-0 in ECC play.  Bridgeport won at Molloy, 4-1, on the October 8th in the regular season meeting between the two teams.

In Thursday's other 2011 ECC Women's Soccer Championship Semifinal, number two seed Dowling (12-5-1 overall and 5-1-1 ECC) will host number three seed C.W. Post (9-5-1 overall, 5-2-0 ECC).  That match will begin at 4:00 p.m.  Thursday's winners will meet at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 5th on the home field of the highest remaining seeded team to decide the 2011 East Coast Conference Women's Soccer Title.

The Purple Knights are the only remaining undefeated and untied NCAA Division II women's soccer program in the nation. 

On offense, senior Kasey Kenny (Staten Island, N.Y.) leads the team in scoring with 27 points on 10 goals and seven assists.  Junior Julia Colley (Harlow, England) is next in scoring with 24 points, as she has also scored 10 goals and has four assists.  Senior Katie Stanley (Oxford, England) is third on the team in scoring with 20 points on seven goals and six assists.  Thirteen different players have scored at least one goal for UB this season, and 16 total players have notched at least one point.

As strong and balanced as the Bridgeport offense has been this season netting 46 goals in 16 matches (avg.=2.9 goals/match), the story of the team this season has been the Purple Knights' defense which has allowed only four goals (0.25 goals against average) all season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Julia Hansson (Tockfors, Sweden) has anchored the UB defense playing every minute of every match, plus she has recorded a single-season school record 12 shutouts so far in 2011.  Hansson enters the ECC Championship Tournament with that afore mentioned 0.25 goals against average and a stellar .959 saves percentage.

Only one of the oppositions' four goals has come in the first half this season.

Bridgeport will be looking for its second East Coast Conference Women's Soccer Championship in school history, as the Purple Knights won the conference title for the first time ever in 2009.

Semifinals: Thursday, November 3

No. 3 CW Post at No. 2 Dowling - 4pm

No. 4 Molloy at No. 1 Bridgeport - 6pm

Finals: Saturday, November 5

Winner 2/3 vs. Winner 1/4 @ highest seed at 1:00pm