FULL RELEASE

This weekend Bears soccer will showcase its talents on the national stage on Fox Soccer Channel against the Wyoming Cowgirls. The game is slated to kickoff at 3 p.m. on Sunday and will air on FSC on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Northern Colorado (4-4-1) going into Sunday's matchup and is also hoping to improve on the series record against the Cowgirls (5-4-2) which currently sits at 5-1-0 for Wyoming.

EVERYONE PITCHING IN
There are currently 14 players on the team that have provided the Bears with shots on goal contributing to a team shot on goal percentage of .546 compared to a shot on goal percentage of .364 from all of the 2009 opponents. Six players have scored the 12 goals for Northern Colorado which includes game winning goals from senior Sydney VanderVelde and freshman Danielle Birdsall.

COUNTDOWN TO 100
Head coach Tim Barrera is only three games of his 100th win at Northern Colorado. Currently the most tenured coach for the Bears, Barrera's team has brought him even closer to this landmark victory with is 2-1 win over Creighton last week. Barrera currently has a record of 97-89-10 going into the game against Wyoming.

RIVALRY CONTINUED
This week's game against the Wyoming Cowgirls marks the 7th time the two teams have met. Wyoming currently leads the Bears in the series with the Bears earning their first win against the Cowgirls last season. In 2008 the Bears won the match-up at Jackson Stadium in a game that ended with a last minute free kick that resulted in a goal from then freshman Ariel Cook.

YOUNG BUT EFFECTIVE
Northern Colorado soccer has a relatively young team comprised of 18 freshmen and sophomores. However the young players on the team are adding a lot to the Bears effectiveness on the field. The top five players in goals and shots consist of two sophomores in Kimmie Fiedler and Ariel Cook as well as three freshmen in Alexsys Tamayo, Danielle Birdsall and JJ Wykstra. These five players have provided Northern Colorado with three of the four goals scored and 27 of the 41 shots on goal.

MAKING A DIFFERENCEFreshman Danielle Birdsall has come in this season as a force to be reckoned with leading the team in goals scored. Coming off of the bench in all nine games this season, Birdsall has scored three goals for the Bears two of which came in as game winners.

LETS GET IT STARTED
Next up for the Bears will be a road trip to open up conference play against last years confernce champions Portland State. Northern Colorado is looking to improve on last years confernce record of 2-5-0 against the Vikings who stand at 4-5-1 this season. The Bears will then return home to face Sacramento State at noon on October 9th at Jackson Stadium.