The Massachusetts women’s soccer team will head to New Britain, Conn. tomorrow ready to face a world of difficulty.

Sporting a roster that includes three players from Canadian, four from Great Britain and one from Sweden, the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (4-3) are coming off a convincing 4-0 defeat of the Oregon Ducks, and will be looking to add to their win column with their different style of play.

“They don’t knock it around a whole lot,” UMass coach Jim Rudy said. “It’s a very English style, very straightforward. It’s up, back and over, or up, square and through. They’re fairly direct, and they tackle very hard, too.”

So, how effective is the imported style on the field? CCSU’s top three scorers have scored a combined nine goals for 25 points through seven games in 2004. The Minutewomen (0-5) have scored just three goals all season long, all three coming from freshmen.

Topping the stat sheet for the Blue Devils is the dangerous sophomore midfield/forward Jess McCavanagh, who has four goals and five assists for 13 points on the year. With numbers like that, you can be sure Rudy will be eyeing the Massapequa, N.Y. native like a hawk.

“I think with McCavanagh, you just got to keep in mind where she is at all times,” Rudy said. “She tends to ghost out on the left flank, and [the Blue Devils] will take advantage of that.”

Another real threat comes from the European side of the Blue Devils’ diverse offense in Swedish-born Marina Lorentzson and England’s own Sophie Hooper. While they won’t turn any heads with the numbers they put up (a combined one goal and one assist for three points,) it is their setups that have directed the Blue Devils to some great scoring opportunities all year long.

“McCavanagh’s great, but I think the real danger in this thing is the impact of Lorentzson and Hooper,” Rudy said. “They are real big in the air. They win about every air ball there is, and I can’t say we’re great in the air. We’re getting better, though.”

But the role of spoiler is a position the Maroon and White have been playing all year. With all the hard work that’s been going into their practices, and all the scoring opportunities that have gone wide, the feeling is that something may break soon. Today would be a perfect opportunity.

“If we do win tomorrow, I think it’s going to make a whole different season for us,” senior Lindsey “Stormy” Fairweather said.

With the season-ending injuries to seniors Erica Wideburg and Carly Turman now official, she remains the lone senior guiding along an attack that includes Adair Blyler, Lindsey Bellini and freshman Britt Canfield.

“We’ve got to go out there and play like we have been,” Fairweather added. “Maybe we could score some more, that would be nice. Coach has been trying to tell us to keep our spirits up, not get ourselves down.”

But if the Minutewomen are to keep pace tomorrow, they will have to start making some shots. As a team, they are converting just over 14 percent of their shots into goals.

“I don’t think our tactics are the problem, as far as our positions on the field are and everything,” Fairweather said. “It’s just our focus when we get into that final third of the field. We’re always two feet away from the post, or not coming close enough.”