SHERBROOKE, Que. – The Bishop's University women's soccer team will host a pair of games this weekend on Coulter Field.  They face No.1 Laval at 7 p.m. on Friday night and UQTR on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
 
The Records:
RSEQ women's soccer is back after a week off.  Before the break the Gaiters (1-5-2) fell 2-0 to McGill (3-3-2) on Sept. 29 and 3-0 to Concordia (2-3-3) on Oct. 1.  Laval beat UQAM (0-3-5) 3-0 on Sept. 29 and beat UQTR (2-4-2) 6-1 on Oct. 1. UQTR lost to Laval and fell 3-2 to Montreal (5-0-3) before the break. 
 
When we last met the Rouge et Or:
In the Gaiters season opener, the Rouge et Or beat Bishop's 2-0 in Quebec City.
 
When we last met the Patriotes:
Bishop's lost 4-0 to UQTR in Trois Rivieres, Que.
 
Coaches Corner:
 
"Whenever you get an opportunity to play against the top team in the country it is a chance to try and topple goliath," said head coach Paul Ballard. "Laval's record speaks for itself, the challenge we have given our team is to do things against Laval that we have never been able to do, creating goal scoring opportunities.  It is going to require some risk on our part but in the end we might loss by a higher margin but what we are looking for is momentum to take us into the next phase of our season.  We know that our backs are against the wall but that it is also not all about winning; it is about taking steps forward, like how well we do in our defensive phase and how we can compete, create and hopefully get more goals in the back of the net. 
 
UQTR humbled us and have improved dramatically since last season, we are looking for a little payback, and not just winning but for us knowing that we are better than what we showed previously. The girls were disappointed in their performance, so I am excited to see how they will respond.  We are banged up, Taylor Straw (Ottawa, Ont./St. Pius X H.S.) and Sarah-Kim Bergeron (Calgary, Alta./Bishop Carroll S.S.) will not play this weekend.  It will hurt us, two senior players and two players that are really important to us but it will give opportunities for younger players to step up.  Jamie Joe-Hudson (Whitehorse, Yukon/) has performed very well in the last two weeks of training, so we are hoping to give her some opportunities.  Cristina Tavares (Kingston, Ont./Regiopolis-Notre Dame C.H.S.) is coming back, so this will be an opportunity for her to get into the starting 11 again and to show everyone that she belongs there.  We are optimistic about this weekend and it is fun to be back on the field, after what feels like a long break."
 
Stats Stars:
Frederique Rivard leads the Gaiters in goals this season with three, all coming in the Gaiters 4-0 win over Sherbrooke (2-4-2).  Sarah-Kim Bergeron (Calgary, Alta./Bishop Carroll S.S.) has one goal and leads the Gaiters in assists with three.  Freshmen Jessica Dodig (Bolton, Ont./) and Lindsay Moore (Lennoxville, Que./Champlain College Lennoxville) have one goal each for the Gaiters.  Larissa Lehmann (Montreal, Que./Dawson College) has two assists in her seven games played. 
 
Watch Live:
Both games will be webcasted at www.gaiters.ca/webcast
 
Up Next:
The Gaiters (1-5-2) are next in action at UQAM (0-3-5) on Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. and will host McGill (3-3-2) at 4:15 p.m. on Oct. 22 on Coulter Field. 
 
Stay Connected:
Follow @BishopsGaiters and the hashtag #GaiterNation on social media for all the latest news and information on the purple and silver.  Also be sure to check out the new-look www.gaiters.ca.