welcomes the St. Francis Xavier female team to the Island for a three match tour.

Their visit begins with a match against a Bermuda Select XI at St. David's on New Year's Day (12.30 p.m.), which will serve as the curtain raiser to the Dudley Eve Trophy final, second leg.

Other matches have the visitors taking on defending League and FA Challenge Cup champions BAA Telecom on Tuesday at BAA Field (6.30 p.m.), and playing against a Bermuda Student Select next Thursday, again at BAA Field (4 p.m.).

St. Francis are expected to provide a stiff test for the local females as well as a welcome change. Local teams have to play against the same faces week to week due to the limited number of sides in the Bermuda league.

Hailing from Nova Scotia, Canada, St. Francis are guided by third year coach Sue Stevenson and placed a respectable third in the Atlantic University Athletic Association Conference (AUAA) this year, qualifying for the play-offs.

It marked the first time since 1986, when St. Francis won the championship, that they had qualified for post-season play.

Their reward is the tour to Bermuda, their first ever outside the continent and both Stevenson and the team expressed a keenness about the venture.

"We will be there to play our games, but also to relax and enjoy Bermuda,'' said Stevenson in a recent release, also noting the opportunity to get away from the frigid climes of North America.

Outstanding players for St. Francis include: Patricia MacDougall, a second year Physical Education major, who was named Rookie-of-the-Year last year and was an AUAA All-Star this season; Julia Lorefice, a third year Physical Education major, who was an AUAA All-star last year; Amanda Wilcox, a fourth year Physical Education major and a AUAA All-star this season as well as a CIAU (national level) second team All-Star.

Lorefice and Wilcox are both defenders, while MacDougall roams the midfield.

In Bermuda, St. Francis face opponents who are undefeated against incoming university level teams.

Back in April of 1991, Bermuda drew against Dartmouth United Alpines, then rated sixth at the Canadian national championships, and they followed this by going undefeated against three visiting Division III sides from the United States in the Bermuda Cup tournament. Against Mount Allison University, ranked third in Canada at the time, Bermuda drew two matches and won another.

Dandy Stars' Shawnette Smith will captain the Bermuda team, which is coached by Wendell Furbert and Paulos. A final practice session is scheduled for today at Devonshire Rec., starting at 9 a.m.

Bermuda Select: Kim Simmons, Earlene Wilkinson, Anne Marie Ivanoff, Tanya Semos (all BAA Telecom); Essa Melakot, Erica Russell, Shequita Parsons, Thea Furbert, Sakena Clarke (Rude Girls); Shawnette Smith, Rebecca Sousa, Meredith Brady, Sheila Jones (Dandy Stars); Suzanne Steede, Melissa Gilbert, Waynesha Bean, Zulema Mills (PHC); Karen Richardson, Raquel Wilkinson (Somerset Terminators); Wendell Furbert, Paulos (coaches).

St. Francis Xavier: Wanda Chisholm, Tanya Pelly, Laura Kelly (goalkeepers); Amy Gillespie, Julia Lorefice, Amanda Stewart, Amanda Wilcox, Patti Hackett (defenders); Hilary MacKenzie, Erin Keating, Kim Hickox, Marlo Sullivan, Leisa MacIntosh, Patricia MacDougall (midfielders); Roisin Meagher, Leanne Macdonald, Shawna Baldwin (forwards); Sue Stevenson (coach); Niki Tobin (manager).

HEART OF DEFENCE -- Earlene Wilkinson (left), seen here congratulating Cassandra Wales, stands as a key member of the Bermuda Select XI's defence.