WASHINGTON – American University women's soccer welcomes Holy Cross to Reeves Field on Saturday to open up Patriot League play.

QUICK INFO 

• Date/Time: Saturday, September 18, 3:00 p.m. 
• Site: Washington, D.C. (Reeves Field) 
• Series History: AU leads, 10-5-4
• TV: ESPN+ 
• Talent: Marc Serber (pxp) 

MASK POLICY AT AU ATHLETICS EVENTS 

• Individuals are required to wear masks to all American University athletics indoor AND outdoor events, per current AU guidelines.  
• We also encourage social distancing at all of our venues. 

INSIDE THE SERIES 

• AU has historically held an edge over Holy Cross, holding a 10-5-4 overall mark against the Crusaders. But Holy Cross has done well lately, going 3-1-2 since the 2014 season.
• Sylvie Prepetit scored her first collegiate goal in a 1-1 overtime tie the last time these two teams met. Her parents made the trip to Reeves Field to witness her scoring for the first time.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN 

• AU is looking to get back on track after losing back-to-back home games against Old Dominion and Elon.
• The Eagles are in search of their first home win since Oct. 9, 2019 against UMBC (1-0, 2OT).
• Julia Kato has been really solid between the pipes during her freshman campaign. Over the course of four games from Aug. 26 to Sept. 9, she held opponents scoreless for 246 minutes, just shy of the program top five for consecutive shutout minutes (Jen Liese, 270 minutes in 2001). That streak was stopped when Old Dominion scored their first goal last week.
• Other freshmen playing a valuable role for the Eagles include Giuliana Capraro, who has played every minute on defense this season, and Brooke Steel, who scored twice against Delaware State and was the Patriot League Rookie of the Week for her efforts.
• The Eagles' offensive attack has been creating many scoring chances this season with Brooke Steel, Fisayo Iluyomade, Tate Jordan, and Juliana Saling all pressing from their forward positions. The four players are all tied for the team lead with four points.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS 

• Holy Cross stands 1-7 overall this year and has lost two straight games since defeating Bryant 3-0 on Sept. 5.
• Colleen McIlvenna recorded assists on all three of the Crusaders' goals in Sunday's game at Boston College.
• She tied the school single-game record with her three assists, matching the marks of Audrey Smith (vs. Lafayette, Oct. 26, 1991) and Courtney Cohen (vs. St. Peter's, Sept. 11, 2015).
• Freshman goalkeeper Olivia Dubin posted her first career shutout during the victory over Bryant, while making a career-high 19 saves against UMass Lowell in the season opener. She currently leads the Patriot League and ranks 30th in the nation with an average of 6.5 saves per game.

IAMMORE DAY

• AU Women's Soccer is proud to partner with the IamMore Foundation, which was founded by one of Coach Harper's teammates from the University of South Florida, Kat Renick (Formerly Leibbrandt), for Saturday's game. 
• The mission of the foundation is to reinvent the self-image of children who have been diagnosed with a chronic condition and to empower their identity to be immeasurably more than their diagnoses.
• For more information on volunteer opportunities and how to support the IamMore Foundation, click here.

FULL STAFF 

• Coach Harper added two new coaches to her squad for this fall season, rounding out her staff in year two.  
• Matt Freibaum was brought on as an assistant coach to work with the attacking unit, among other duties. He joins AU after two seasons at Wofford.  
• Martina Loncar is serving the team in a volunteer assistant role while she pursues a Master's degree at AU. A four-year letterwinner at Colgate, her experience in the Patriot League will undoubtedly be a valuable resource for the Eagles. 

SISTER, SISTER 

• The Mahony sisters are the first siblings to play for AU Women's Soccer since 2000, and just the fourth pair ever. 
• Olivia, a senior, and Jordan, a freshman, played for The Pennington School for one season, although Jordan played only sparingly as a high school freshman. 
• The most heralded sister duo in AU Women's Soccer history is the Pike sisters. Liz holds every scoring record in program history and is in the Cassell Hall of Fame, while Julia is fourth in program history in career assists with 15. 
• Liz played for AU from 1990-93, while Julia was on the team from 1992-96. 

ENHANCED CONCESSIONS FOR SATURDAY'S MATCH

• AU Athletics has partnered with Gregorio's Trattoria to provide an enhanced concessions menu for all home weekend men's and women's soccer games this fall.
• Fans can enjoy Gregorio's favorites from the grill station to the left of the Reeves Field bleachers including menu selections of freshly grilled burgers, Italian sausage and peppers, hot dogs, and a selection of cold Pepsi and Gatorade beverages.

HOW TO WATCH ESPN+ 

• A subscription to ESPN+ is available for purchase via ESPN.com, ESPNPlus.com, or the ESPN App. Fans can access ESPN+ content only after they have subscribed. To subscribe, click here. It costs $6.99/month or $69.99/year. 

KEEP UP WITH US 

• For the latest on American University Women's Soccer, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_WSoccer), Facebook (AU.WSoccer) and Instagram (@au_wsoccer).