Juniata women’s soccer heading to Europe for exhibition tour

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata College women's soccer will embark on a 10-day tour of Italy, Austria, and Germany, starting June 25, playing three exhibition games against club teams while getting a chance to soak up the culture in some of the most visited sites in southern and central Europe.

The women's soccer team will visit Milan, Lake Como, Verona, and Venice in Italy, facing the ACF Tradate club team in Como on Wednesday, June 27.

The squad will then head to Austria, spending time in Carinthia and Tyrol, including a day in the city of Salzburg. Juniata will face Austrian club FC St. Veit an der Glan for game two of the trip on Saturday, June 30. The Eagles will then battle Austrian club USK Bergheim on Sunday, July 1. 

The trip concludes with two days in Munich, Germany, before the team returns to the U.S. on July 4.

"For a lot of these kids, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to Europe. Being able to go with 18 of their best friends will make it that much more special," said Juniata head women's soccer coach Scott McKenzie. "We're playing three professional club teams, which will give us the opportunity to test our mettle against professional players and will help give us a boost going into the 2012 season."

Juniata is coming off a 5-9-3 campaign in 2011, 1-4-1 and a sixth-place finish in the Landmark Conference. The Eagles return three of their top five point producers from a year ago, led by juniors Paula Pryor (Westbrookville, N.Y./Burke Catholic) and Alicia Snyder (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) with eight points each.

The Eagles will open their regular season on Saturday, Sept. 1, when they host Thiel College at 1:00 p.m. in a non-conference match on Winton Hill Field.

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