Nori Gedei helped Park defeat MNU in 2008, 2-1. She has one shot and one shot on goal in the 2010 season.

Complete Release (PDF)

PARKVILLE, Mo. – Park University will meet MidAmerica Nazarene University for the fourth time in its women’s soccer program’s history Tuesday night at Julian Field, with kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m., as the Pirates look to go 2-0 in 2010 and 4-0 in the all-time series between the two schools.

Park (1-0) coasted by the University of Sioux Falls in its season opener, defeating the Cougars 6-0 on Aug. 21, while MNU will begin its season with the first of two road games, also traveling to Southern Nazarene University on Saturday.

MNU and Park last met in 2008 in Olathe, Kan., with Park earning a 2-1 victory at Pioneer Field.

In Park’s opener against USF, both Ashley Maxwell and Juneille Watkins had two goals and an assist, while Lisa Buzzotta came up with the season’s first goal and Madeline Sund scored her first career goal in the win.

Dana Hemmingsen also had an assist in the game, taking seven shots. Maxwell led the team in shots, taking 15 with nine shots on goal, and she leads the country in shots and shots on goal per game.

Monika Stoiber and Ellen Ghirardi have both spent time in goal for the Pirates, with Stoiber playing 70-plus minutes with a save and a victory. Ghirardi played the final 19:28 of Park’s win over USF, helping the Pirates record a team shutout.

MidAmerica Nazarene returns a solid core from the 2009 season, bringing back both goal keepers and its top three goal scorers from last year’s roster. Sophomore Becca Skillman played the majority of the minutes for the Pioneers last season as a freshman, posting 77 saves while allowing 22 goals in 99 shots faced. Alanna Russo also played sparingly, appearing in four games with eight saves and two goals allowed.

Rebecca McAndrew returns for her senior season after scoring 12 Pioneer goals with one assist last season, while Alyssa Howard is also back on the MNU roster for her senior campaign after scoring five times last year with two assists.

Emily Bean scored three goals last year for MNU, returning for her junior year, hoping to help the Pioneers improve on a 8-9-1 record and a 4-5 mark in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Tuesday’s game can be followed live, online, at www.parkathletics.com by clicking on the Gameday Information icon at the top of the page.

There fans will find links to live statistics, a live blog and pregame information on both teams.

BUZZOTTA LANDS FIRST-CAREER GAME WINNER
Lisa Buzzotta came into the 2010 season opener with seven career goals, but in three previous seasons in a Park uniform, the Chesterfield, Mo., native had never netted a game winner.

That changed against the University of Sioux Falls.

Just two minutes into the contest, Buzzotta found the back of the net from just left of the post, registering her eighth career goal and her first game winner, moving her career points total to 24. The goal also marked the first of six scores in the 2010 season opener, helping the Pirates to their fourth-most lopsided season-opening win in program history.

PIRATES EARN EIGHTH-EVER SEASON-OPENING SHUTOUT
With the team’s 6-0 win over Sioux Falls, Park University registered its eighth season-opening shutout in school history, including the third-straight under head coach Ken Hefner. Park also shut out Avila, 7-0, in 2009, and John Brown, 1-0, in 2008.

Park’s first season-opening shutout came in 1995, defeating McKendree, 12-0, marking the widest winning margin in a season opener in the school’s women’s soccer history.

STOIBER’S STREAK ENDS
Monika Stoiber played all 1,681:39 in goal last season for Park University, and through the first 70:32, she was still the only goal keeper to see time between the pipes for the Pirates since Megan Newland appeared in the second half of the team’s final game, at the NAIA national tournament, in the 2008 season.

Stoiber’s consecutive minutes steak halted at 1,752:11 when Ellen Ghirardi came in with 19:28 left in the 2010 season opener. Last season, Stoiber made 60 saves and allowed 10 goals, and in 2010, she has the team’s only save and neither goal keeper has surrendered a score on the year.

MAXWELL, WATKINS START STRONG; SUND SCORES FIRST-CAREER GOAL
Ashley Maxwell added to her career goals total with a two-goal performance in the team’s season opener, pushing her career total to 31, and in the process she added her eighth-career assist by providing the final touch before Lisa Buzzotta’s game winner. Maxwell leads the country in shots per game (15) and shots on goal per game (nine), while pushing her career points total to 70.

Juneille Watkins also got off to a strong start, providing her 11th and 12th career goals in addition to her fourth-career assist in the win over Sioux Falls.

The Pirates also had a first-career goal scored against USF when freshman Madeline Sund teed one up from 40 yards out, finding the back of the net for the team’s fifth goal of the day.