Live Stats  |  2012 SRU Stats  |  2012 Cal U Stats

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The 17th-ranked Slippery Rock University women's soccer team will welcome California University (Pa.) Thursday for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference match that will serve as the season-opener for both teams.

Live Coverage: The Slippery Rock sports information office will provide a live statistics feed for the game at the link above. The SRU sports information office will also provide live updates through the official Rock Athletics Twitter page (@Rock_Athletics) throughout the game.

Rankings: Slippery Rock is ranked 17th in the preseason Division II national rankings compiled by the NSCAA. The Rock was picked to finish second in the PSAC this year. California is unranked in the national rankings and was picked to finish third in the league.

Rematch: Thursday's opener is a rematch of last season's PSAC title game, won 3-0 by Slippery Rock, and is also a rematch of the NCAA Tournament second round game, also won by Slippery Rock.

Scouting The Rock: Slippery Rock is coming off its third PSAC title and a record of 14-6-3 last fall. The Rock begins the 2013 season in a quest for their 18th consecutive winning season. The current streak of 17 straight winning seasons is the eighth-best in Division II history.

The Rock returns All-Region goalkeeper Dana O'Neill and All-Region defenders Lauren Impey and Izabel Scott, along with All-PSAC midfielder Leslie Henny. O'Neill was picked by the league coaches as the top keeper in the PSAC last fall after posting 10 shutouts and a 0.80 goals against average.

SRU will begin the 2013 season looking for new contributions in the scoring department after the departure of the team's top two scorers in Lucy Hannon and Shelby Ward, who combined for 19 goals and 13 assists last year. Sophomores Cailin Conner, Crysta Ganter, Caitlin Binder and Allison Harbart will be relied on to provide some of that scoring, along with juniors Nicole Krueger and Ali Brosky, along with a host of freshmen.

Slippery Rock outscored opponents 45-19 last season and finished with a team goals against average of just 0.79.

Scouting the Vulcans: It will be no surprise to anyone in the Division II soccer world to see California return to the national rankings at some point during the season. The Vulcans have been perennial contenders in the Atlantic Region and return a potent attack and an All-Region goalkeeper.

Headlining the list of returning players for the Vulcans are goalkeeper Ashley Magruda and goal scorers Haley Henderson, Erin Hogan and Bethany Smyda.

Magruda started 21 games last year and posted a 15-5-1 record and a 0.84 goals against average. Of the 18 goals she gave up last fall, five of those were scored by Slippery Rock.

Henderson led the team in goal scoring last fall with 11 goals to go along with two assists. Hogan was second in scoring with four goals and a team-high 14 assists, and Smyda was named to the All-Region team after tallying five goals and three assists.

The Vulcans outscored opponents 48-19 last fall and posted a team goals against average of 0.84.

Head Coaches: Noreen Herlihy is in her 19th season at the helm of the Slippery Rock program. She has led the team to 17 consecutive winning seasons and owns a career record of 224-103-27. Herlihy is a 1992 graduate of Mercyhurst College with a bachelor's degree in sports medicine. She also owns a master's degree in sports administration from Slippery Rock.

Gene Smith is in his second season as the head coach at California after taking over the reigns last fall. Smith was also an assistant coach with the Vulcans for two years before taking over as the head coach. He owns a record of 16-5-1.

Series: The rivalry between SRU and Cal U has boiled over in recent years thanks to repeated meetings in the postseason. Slippery Rock holds a 19-9-2 advantage in the all-time series.

The Vulcans eliminated SRU from the NCAA Playoffs in 2010 and 2011, but The Rock took the edge in the series last season by eliminating California from the PSAC and NCAA playoffs. Both games took place on California's home field and are currently the only two losses the Vulcans have suffered at that complex. The back-to-back home losses to end the 2012 season were the first since the 2007 season for Cal.

Last Time: (Box Score) A week after defeating California for the PSAC championship, The Rock registered a 1-0 win over the Vulcans in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Nov. 11, 2012.

Dana O'Neill recorded her 10th shutout of the year and Crysta Ganter tallied the lone goal of the game off an assist from Cailin Conner in the 49th minute. O'Neill made four saves, including one on the near post with just 55 seconds left.

Ashley Magruda made two saves in goal for California, who finished with a 10-8 edge in total shots. The Rock posted a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.

PSAC Gets Deeper: With the addition of Seton Hill and Pitt-Johnstown to the PSAC this year, the league now has 17 women's soccer teams, meaning nearly every game on the 2013 schedule will count in the PSAC standings. SRU will only play one non-conference game this season when it travels to Davis & Elkins Sept. 21.

Next Up: Slippery Rock will travel to Clarion Sept. 10 for a 7 p.m. kickoff in PSAC action.