VERMILLION, S.D. -- The University of South Dakota women's soccer team will open play at the Great West Conference Championship Friday in Newark, N.J., against Howard University. The game will begin at 10:30 a.m. Central time in Newark. It will be the first meeting ever between the two schools in women's soccer. The Coyotes are the No. 3 seed out of the GWC's West Division, while the Bison are the No. 2 seed out of the GWC's East Division.

ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA
The Coyotes are 4-11-1 after going 1-2 in Great West Conference games last week...USD beat North Dakota, 4-3 on Oct. 25...Yutzil Rodriguez had a goal and an assist for USD, while Erin Bello, Sarah Wheeler and Katie Quinones had goals...Rachel Greene added an assist, while Jen Ogren had seven saves to get the win in goal for the Coyotes...USD fell to Utah Valley, 5-0 on Oct. 29...Ogren had 11 saves for USD, while Bello and Rodriguez had four shots each...the Coyotes fell to Houston Baptist, 2-0 on the Oct. 31...Quinones had six shots, while Wheeler had two...Ogren had six saves for USD...Quinones leads the Coyotes with eight goals and 16 points, while Erin Bello has three goals and an assist...Rodriguez has a goal, three assists and five points...Ogren has 93 saves and a 2.47 goals against average...USD, with an enrollment of 9,291, is located in Vermillion, S.D., and competes in the Great West Conference...Marcia Oliveira is in her second season as USD's head coach.

CONTINUING TO BUILD
USD head coach Marcia Oliveira is known for her work in building Division I programs. She did so at Mary Hardin-Baylor, starting the program from scratch in 1999. By 2001, the team had attained a winning record of 10-6-1. Oliveira also did the same at Sam Houston State, and by her third season, had guided Sam Houston to the Southland Conference Tournament championship game. Oliveira is now in the midst of building another Division I program as she leads the Coyotes through their the second year of transition to Division I status after the Coyotes spent many years in Division II.

OPPONENTS:
Howard University - Howard University is 4-10-2 on the year and finished 3-2-1 in the Great West Conference'stheir most recent action on Nov. 1...Howard's wins are over Delaware State (two), South Carolina State and Longwood...Cynthia Snyder and Retha Koefoed lead Howard with five goals each, while Jordan Brown has four goals...Chanel Bell has 123 saves and a 2.04 goals against average...Howard has been outscored 34-17 this seaon and has been shut-out seven times...Howard University, with an enrollment of 10,500, is located in Washington, DC and competes in the Great West Conference's season as Howard's head coach, with a record of 4-10-2.

CLIMBING THE CAREER TOP 10
Here's a look at USD players who are in the top 10 of career statistics:
--Jennifer Ogren is now third all-time in career saves with 189 and is 16 out of second place.
--Katie Quinones is now tied for sixth all-time with 19 goals and is tied for sixth with 41points. She also has 49 shots on goal, good for fifth all-time.

MAKING AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT:
The Coyotes have seven freshmen on their roster, and several have made an immediate impact in 2009:
--Yutzil Rodriguez has a goal, three assists and five points, which is third on the team.
--Redshirt freshman Erin Bello is second on the roster with three goals.
--Rachel Greene has played in all 16 games and has an assist and 17 shots,
--Nathalia Cerceau has played in all 16 games and has six shots.
--Kourtney Mann has appeared in 15 games as well.