TOLEDO, OH - With only five matches remaining in the regular season, Toledo looks to keep pace for a home contest in the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the third-consecutive year. The Rockets currently stand at 7-5-2 overall, 3-2-1 in the league and are tied for fourth place. This weekend, the Rockets wrap up a four-match homestand with contests against Buffalo and Kent State. Kickoffs are slated for 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16 against the Bulls and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18 against the Golden Flashes, respectively.

Sunday's match has been tabbed as "Think Pink Day" at Scott Park. The Rockets will wear pink jerseys and raffle them off after the match with all proceeds going to Susan G. Komen for the cure foundation. The first 100 fans through the gates will also receive a "Think Pink" Breast Cancer Awareness t-shirt. Last season, the Rockets raised $2,642 for the foundation from the one-day event.

"I think it's great that the athletic department has made an effort to support such an important cause for women's health," said Toledo Head Coach Brad Evans, whose team has been picked to win the MAC each of the last two seasons.

The three-time defending MAC tourney champions are currently tied with Miami and KSU for the final host-tournament spot with 10 points. UT trails third-place Eastern Michigan and Ohio by a mere one point and first-place Central Michigan by eight points. The top four squads in the final regular-season standings will host teams five through eight in the quarterfinal round on Sunday, Nov. 1 at campus sites, with the highest-remaining seed among the four survivors hosting the semifinals (Nov. 6) and championship (Nov. 8). Teams earn three points for a win and a single point for a tie.

Last weekend, Toledo split a pair of home contests with a 1-0 win against Akron on Friday, followed by a 1-0 loss to Ohio on Sunday. The Midnight Blue and Gold is 4-3-0 at the corner of Hill Ave. and Parkside Ave. thus far this fall and an impressive 35-8-3 since the start of the 2005 campaign.

In the victory against the Zips, junior Sarah Blake's goal in the 54th minute led the home team to the shutout win. Blake was able to maneuver herself in between a couple of UA defenders off a corner kick by freshman Rachael Kravitz and used her heel to direct the ball into the back of the net for her first tally of 2009.

Offensively, the Rockets are an unselfish group, with 14 different players tallying points. Still leading the way at the top of the Toledo circle is senior Molly Cornwell, who has totaled 11 points with three goals and five assists. The two-time MAC Player of the Year is second in the MAC in shots (46), tied for second in assists and tied for third in points. Right behind Cornwell is classmate Ali Leak with nine points on a team-best four goals and one assist. Leak currently ranks tied for fourth in the league in goals, fifth in shots (37) and tied for seventh in points.

Other key contributors to the Rockets' offensive attack have been freshman Rachael Kravitz and sophomore Kristen Lynn. Kravitz has registered one goal and a pair of assists, all coming in the last eight matches, including the winning assist vs. Akron, while Lynn is second on the squad with three helpers.

As a team, the Rockets are fourth in the MAC in shots (189, 13.50 spm), tied for fourth in goals (17, 1.21 gpm) and tied for fifth in points (50, 3.57 ppm) and assists (16, 1.14 apm). Points have been hard to come by as of late though, as UT has been held to one goal or less in five of the last seven matches.

On the defensive side of the field, the Rockets continue to hover in the upper half of the MAC in shutouts, goals allowed and goals-against average. They are currently third in the league in blankings (6) and fourth in tallies surrendered (13) and GAA (0.89).

Toledo continues to ride the coattails on defense of its sophomore goalkeeper Vicki Traven. The 2008 MAC Freshman of the Year has started all 14 matches this season with a 0.80 GAA and five shutouts. She is currently second in the MAC in shutouts, fourth in GAA and fifth in save percentage (.825). In Friday's win vs. the Zips, Traven came up big several times and recorded five saves. It marked the fifth time this season she has recorded at least five stops in a match.

Buffalo enters Friday's conference showdown with a deceiving 3-10-1 overall record and a 2-3-1 mark in the league. The Bulls are coming off an impressive home weekend in which they defeated Western Michigan, 2-1, and Northern Illinois, 2-0, to snap a six-match winless streak. UB, which was predicted to finish last in the MAC's preseason coach's poll, is led offensively by Stephanie Velez, who is tied for fourth in the legue in goals (4) and tied for seventh in points (9). Goalkeeper Amy Coron has played in 12 matches and has a league-high 79 saves and a 1.30 GAA. The Bulls lead the all-time series, 7-5-1, but the Rockets have held the upper hand as of late, winning the last three matches overall and the last four at Scott Park.

Kent State, which takes on Bowling Green on Friday before meeting the Rockets two days later, owns a record of 7-5-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the MAC. The Golden Flashes come off a weekend in which they recorded 2-1 double-overtime home win against NIU and battled WMU to a 2-2 double-overtime draw. KSU is paced by Vanessa Salerno (four goals), Kellyn Flanagan (three goals, two assists) and Catharine Marosszeky (three goals, two assists) with eight points each. Salerno ranks tied for fourth in the MAC in goals and tied for fifth in match-winning scores (2). Goalkeeper Kelly Sherwood has started all 13 matches and has 45 saves, a 1.02 GAA and four shutouts. KSU, which was predicted to finish sixth in the preseason coach's poll, leads the all-time series, 8-5-1, but the Rockets have won the last two meeting on their home turf, including a 3-2 triumph last fall.

"Every year presents new challenges and this year is no different," Evans said. "Our players are excited for the challenges that the end of the MAC season will bring."

The contest with the Golden Flashes on Sunday is also "Senior Day" for five distinguished Toledo players (Molly Cornwell, Megan Ginley, Ali Leak, Nora Jereb, Heather Wesley) who will be appearing in their final regular-season, weekend home match. This group has collectively won 46 matches in three-plus seasons, as well as three conference tourney titles (2006, 07, 08) and one regular-season title (2008).

"It is impossible to put into words what this group has meant to this program," Evans said. "Their time here has been marked by unprecedented growth and prosperity and all of us are honored that they chose to be student-athletes at UT."