The women’s soccer team makes its return to the pitch this weekend with a pair of home games against Marist and Providence. The Bulldogs will face the Marist Red Foxes tonight and the Providence Friars on Sunday.

The games will both be part of the Yale Soccer Classic, a tournament hosted by the Bulldogs at Reese Stadium. Central Connecticut will also be participating in the tournament, and each team will play two matches over the weekend.

“We need to be ready mentally and physically in understanding that we’re going to be at a little bit of a disadvantage as far as our match fitness,” head coach Rudy Meredith said in an interview last Monday. “We’re going to have to capitalize on our chances early in the game before we get a little fatigued.”

While the Bulldogs will be playing their first games of the season, it will be Marist’s second match and Providence’s sixth.

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The Red Foxes (0–1) opened their season last Friday with a 1–0 loss to Wagner. Marist will be a familiar foe for the Elis, as the two teams faced each other last season. Yale came away with a 3–2 win.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any major surprises with this team,” Meredith said. “We know that we’re going to be two comparable teams playing against each other, so we’re going to come out there and try to match each other’s intensity.”

The Elis will then close out the Yale Soccer Classic on Sunday when they face Providence. The Friars (1–0–3) are coming off a 5–0 drubbing of Holy Cross on Wednesday. It was the first win of the season for Providence, after the team began its season with three consecutive ties against Bryant, Davidson and Charlotte. Midfielders Courtney Collins and Mary Vercollone have had hot starts for the Friars, with both tallying six points through their first four games. Collins has notched three goals, while Vercollone has posted two goals and two assists.

Kickoff against Marist is slated for 7:30 p.m. tonight at Reese Stadium. The Bulldogs face Providence on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.