HELENA, Mont. -- Though a road trip, the Carroll College Saints women's soccer team sees its trip up I-15 to Great Falls as the next closest thing to a home game. 

"It's an away trip for us but it's only 90-minute drive for all intents and purposes," Saints coach Dave Thorvilson said. "It feels pretty close to being a home game, so we're excited about that." 

The Saints (6-5-2, 5-0-2 Cascade) head to Great Falls on Saturday to match up against the University of Providence (6-5, 4-3) at 1 p.m.

Carroll remains unbeaten in Cascade play and at the top of the conference standings. The Saints went 1-0-1 last season, earning a 2-1 win over Rocky Mountain College in Billings and posting a 2-2 tie against College of Idaho in Caldwell. 

Providence finds itself in the middle of the CCC standings, led in part by the play of Eme McLaughlin. McLaughlin is highly ranked in the NAIA in several offensive categories. She ranks No. 6 in shots per game (6.6), No. 13 in shots on goal per game (3.5) and No. 15 in goals scored per game (1.2). 

"She's a handful," Thorvilson said. "Defensively, she's going to cause us some issues. We're going to go into this game knowing it's not going to be easy."

There's added intrigue when Carroll takes on Providence, too. The Saints and Argonauts recruit from similar areas. Come Saturday, former high school teammates or adversaries will once again be competing on the pitch. 

"We share a lot of similar recruiting, both being Catholic schools, being so close to one another," Thorvilson said. "There's a combination of kids on both teams that grew up playing against each other or with each other. I think that adds a bit to the rivalry as well."

With only one game this weekend, the Saints will look to secure another result to maintain their place atop the CCC standings. 

 The game will be streamed live through the UP Argos YouTube page.