Great Falls, Mont. - The University of Providence men's soccer team hopes to rebound from a heartbreaking weekend against Rocky Mountain College at Argo Field on Friday at 3:30 p.m.

The Argos (6-4, 8-4-1) have spent the week regrouping after a tough weekend. After a 12-1 defeat over Multnomah, they conceded two goals in the final five minutes of regulation the following night, eventually losing to Warner Pacific 3-2 in overtime.

Things don't get easier as the squad faces Rocky Mountain (8-1, 9-3), who's currently second in the conference on Friday, and Walla Walla on Sunday. The Battlin' Bears are currently on a six game winning streak.

"Obviously Rocky is going to be very difficult," head coach Matt Ball said. "They are on a roll themselves right now. They'll be prepared and they'll be coming out hard."

The Argos will have to do so without senior forward George Holloway, the team's leading goal scorer. Holloway suffered a grade 3 shoulder separation in Friday's win over Multnomah, causing the rest of his season to be in doubt. Ball said Holloway met with a doctor on Wednesday, who said if he's lucky he may be able to return in three to four weeks.

"He'll need surgery at some point," Ball said. "He's going to try to put it off in the hopes that he can be back by the conference tournament but I'm fairly sure it's a pretty bad separation. If he's lucky and can get the function back than obviously love to have him."

Ball and assistant coach Mathew Lowndes have spent the week coming up with a strategy in lieu of Holloway's absence. The coaching staff is pleased with the depth that they have, and have spent the last few practices experimenting with different lineups.

"A lot of what we had done was to get the best out of players like George," Ball said. "We've looked at things to maybe change and get the best out of the personnel that we have. We want our best 11 players on the field at any one time so creating a system or style that creates that gets that out of them has been the plan all week. We think we have a good plan going into Friday."

"Everyone has the potential to jump into the lineup at any point," he said. "They just have to be prepared to take that moment when it comes. If we show up then I think we have a good plan. If we don't it doesn't matter what plan we have."

There's a lot at stake in the match against the Battlin' Bears. The Argos are currently 4^th in the conference in total points with 18. Warner Pacific is in 5^th place with 16, and there are three times each at 15. Northwest and College of Idaho are both in the hunt with 13 and 12 points respectively. The top eight teams make the Cascade Conference Tournament. 

The Bears are second with 24 points. A win over the Argos would mean the winner of their game next week with Corban (29 points) would essentially be a regular season conference championship game.

"Obviously right now the job is to get into the tournament," Ball said. Once we get there anything can happen. Of all the teams we have seen so far, none of them have scared me to the point where we need to try and avoid them. We've proven we can compete with anybody."

Sunday's game will also be the final home game for the team's nine seniors, who have been the heart and soul of the team this year, Ball said.

"This class has brought a lot," Ball said. "There's a core group of guys that have been here for all four years. They've really changed a lot of the culture their junior and senior years. Those guys, as talented as they are, it's the cultural piece that will be the toughest to replace for next year. The seniors that we've added to the team have really added to the culture and made this a team with a really strong work ethic. I tell recruits all the time talent is quite an easy thing to evaluate. Character and work ethic is a bit less so. And we have seniors who are both here and that's what make this team special."