PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley Soccer team will host one of the nation's premier tournament fields this weekend when the Braves (3-1-1) make their 2010 home debut by hosting Ivy League power Dartmouth (2-1-0), #21 SMU (5-0-0) and #14 Creighton (4-0-0) in the Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic at Shea Stadium.
While fellow Missouri Valley Conference member Creighton will play the opening game each day, Bradley will follow by taking on Dartmouth in Friday's 7:30 p.m. game and former Valley rival SMU in Sunday afternoon's 2:30 contest.
Promotions Schedule
The action on the field will be part of the overall experience for fans this weekend at Shea Stadium: Friday's game versus Dartmouth is "Back to School Night" and will feature a postgame movie viewing of this summer's blockbuster The Karate Kid on the field. Fans will receive $1 admission Friday night by donating two new school supplies for District 150 students (a list of requested items is available online). Sunday's tourney finale versus #21 SMU is "Family/Youth Day" and the game will be followed by a free postgame performance from Christian rock band Hello Industry.
Dartmouth Series Notes
Bradley is 0-2 in its previous two meetings against Dartmouth and the Braves will be in search of their first-ever goal against the Big Green Friday ... In Dartmouth's previous trip to the Peoria area Oct. 20, 2002, the Big Green ended Bradley's season-opening, 15-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 decision at McClallen Park in Morton.
SMU Series Notes
Former Missouri Valley Conference rival SMU owns a 5-3-3 all-time record against Bradley ... Bradley was 2-0-3 in its last five games against SMU as Valley rivals from 2002-04, however ... Although the 12th meeting in the all-time series, Sunday's game will be just the third home game for the Braves against SMU ... Friday's tournament opener against Creighton will be SMU's first official game at Shea Stadium, but it will not be the Mustangs' first appearance at Bradley's current home stadium ... When No. 3 SMU visited Oct. 29, 2004, heavy rains made the old Shea Stadium surface unplayable less than 10 minutes into Bradley's annual Homecoming contest and forced the game's cancellation.
Spreading the Wealth
Just five games into the season, Bradley has received points from 14 different players, already offensive contributions from more players than in either of the last two complete seasons ... The Braves received goals and assists from 13 different players last year and from 12 different players in 2008 ... Notably, 11 different Bradley players had either a goal or an assist in Sunday's 7-1 victory against Alabama A&M.
Seven On Seventh
On the seventh anniversary of their last seven-goal outburst, the Braves equalled the single-game program record for both goals and total points (22) in Sunday's 7-1 victory against Alabama A&M ... Bradley set the goal-scoring mark in a 7-6, overtime victory at Illinois-Chicago Sept. 5, 1992, then equalled the mark in a 7-0 victory against Drury Sept. 12, 2003.
Gaul Adapts Quickly
Junior midfielder Bryan Gaul has excelled in every role he has been asked to fill at Bradley ... Playing a wide midfield position as a freshman in 2008, Gaul earned MVC All-Freshman Team honors after registering five goals and an assist ... Gaul was asked to switch to left back last year and he responded by earning honorable mention All-MVC notice by playing all but eight minutes and sharing the team lead with four assists ... Back in the midfield, Gaul already has four goals and an assist in the first five games this year.
