BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- The LIU Brooklyn women's soccer team will head up to Smithfield, Rhode Island on Sunday to face Northeast Conference rival Bryant for a 1:00 p.m. match. After this match, the Blackbirds will finish up the season the following Saturday at Robert Morris (10/27, 3 p.m.).

The Bulldogs (7-6-1, 3-2-1) are in the thick of the NEC playoff race, having come off a 2-0 win at home against RMU on Friday. Like LIU (13 goals scored), Bryant is a team that relies on its defense, scoring only 14 goals, while yielding 17 on the season. The Bulldogs' balanced offense is led by senior Cayla D'Amico with eight points (three goals, two assists). Sophomore Meghan Dalton (1.28 goals against average) has started every game between the pipes for Bryant. Senior Marian Awad continues to pace the Blackbirds with 14 points on seven goals.

LIU is 5-3-1 all-time against Bryant, since the first game in 2009. The Blackbirds won the first five games in the series from 2009-13, before falling for the first time in 2014. The Bulldogs have won the last two meetings, including a 1-0 shutout last year in Brooklyn. Also, the only tie between the schools came in 2015 (0-0) and all nine contests have been conference games since Bryant joined the league in 2009.