Sept. 1, 2004

St. Louis, Mo. - Saint Louis (1-0) hosts Saint Joseph's (1-1), who will bring its East Coast style to town Labor Day weekend on Sun., Sept. 5, at 1 p.m., at the Anheuser-Busch Center. There are no charges for parking or admission for Billiken field hockey.

RECAP: The Billikens defeated SMS 2-1 in overtime on Sat., Aug. 28, in the season opener for both teams. Senior Ellen Rapp (St. Louis, Mo. / Ursuline Academy) scored both SLU goals on assists from senior Marissa Lynn (Aurora, Colo. / St. Francis) to rally the Bills. Rapp's OT winner came at 6:07.

THE SAINT JOSEPH'S SERIES: This is the second meeting between the two schools and a preview of the Atlantic 10 conference, which Saint Louis will join next season. The Hawks won the meeting, a 2-1, in Philadelphia in 1988. Saint Joseph's returns seven starters and 15 letterwinners, including the 2003 A-10 Rookie of the Year Nicole Antonini Porter (9G, 3A). Also returning for the Hawks is junior Katelyn O'Brien (6G, 5A). Head coach Michelle Finegan (101-152-7 overall career, 60-71-7 at SJU) is in her second season of her second stint with the Hawks. She led the 2003 team to a third-place league finish and was named A-10 Coach of the Year honors. SJU dropped its season opener 3-2 at Rutgers and defeated Fairfield, 3-1, on Tue., Aug. 31.

THE COACH: Maria Whitehead is 4-16 in her second year at the Billiken helm. She was a member of the 2002 Wake Forest field hockey national championship team. Included among many accolades, she was named first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 2001 and 2002. Whitehead was a two-time Regional All-American, two-time All-ACC pick and helped lead her team to three Final Fours. She earned her B.A. in communications from Wake Forest in 2003.

FRONTLINE LYNN: Senior forward Marissa Lynn (Aurora, Colo./St. Francis Univ.) assisted on both of Ellen Rapp's goals against SMS.

THAT'S A WRAP: Senior forward Ellen Rapp (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy) scored both goals in the season opening 2-1 overtime match against SMS ... netted the gamewinner vs. Lindenwood in the 4-2 exhibition win.

BOONE'S CROSSING: Junior midfielder Carin Boone (Loveland, Ohio/Ursuline) is out with an ankle injury.

THE BUS STOP: Junior midfielder/back Stephanie Bus (N. Olmsted, Ohio/Lake Ridge Academy) started both the exhibition with Lindenwood and the season opener against SMS.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Junior midfielder/forward Courtney Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) scored the go-ahead goal in the exhibition with Lindenwood ... started against SMS.

KELLY'S KORNER: Junior forward Kelly Hellenga (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) started the exhibition against Lindenwood with a solid performance ... started the SMS season opener ... has one shot.

SPARKLING JEWELL: Junior goalkeeper Julie Moeckel (St. Louis, Mo./Ladue) played 70:00 minutes against SMS ... has a 1.00 GAA ... started exhibition match against Lindenwood.

JUMPIN' JILL: Junior midfielder/back Jill Mueller (Loveland, Ohio/Ursuline) came off the bench against SMS ... has one defensive save ... offered relief from the bench in the Lindenwood exhibition.

THIS LAND IS SME-LAND: Junior midfielder/forward Jamie Smeland (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) started the Lindenwood exhibition with a solid game ... started against SMS.

THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM: Sophomore midfielder/forward Angela Lombardo (St. Louis, Mo./Nerinx Hall) came off the bench and scored initial goal vs. Lindenwood ... came off the bench against SMS.

MISSING KRIS: Sophomore midfielder Kristin Lueders (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy) is redshirting this season.

MICHELLE, MY BELLE: Sophomore midfielder/back Michelle Sinclair (St. Louis, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) solid starting performances in the Lindenwood exhibition and SMS opener ... has one defensive save.

ASHES TO ASHES: Freshman midfielder Ashlea Hibshman (Lititz,Pa./Warwick) started the Lindenwood exhibition ... solid start SMS match.

MURPHY'S LAW: Freshman midfielder Rita Murphy (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart) started the Lindenwood exhibition ... started season opener against SMS.

SLY'S ON THE FLY: Freshman forward Natalie Slyman Stephanie Bus (N. Olmsted, Ohio/Lake Ridge) gave a solid backfield performance in the Lindenwood exhibition ... started against SMS.

WASSUP? Freshman goalkeeper Amy Wasserman (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy) logged in 35:00 in the Lindenwood exhibition's second half allowing one goal.

WHITEHEAD'S WRITE-UP: "We have the whole week to prepare for our game with Saint Joseph's on Sunday. We're excited to host a future A-10 co-member and feel fortunate for the opportunity."