Seattle University head women’s soccer coach Julie Woodward released the 2009 SeattleU women’s soccer schedule Wednesday. SU is slated to play 18 contests this season, six of which they will host at Championship Field on the SU campus.
The Redhawks will kick off the 2009 campaign with a pair of home games, hosting Boise State in the home opener Friday, Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. Two days later they will take on Idaho in a midday contest at noon.
SeattleU, who will play four teams who played in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, will then take to the road for two games. Their first road game will be at cross-town rival Washington on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. This will be the first time since 1993 that the Redhawks will take on the Huskies, and they will vie for their first-ever win versus UW after falling in their previous three meetings.
SU will close out their first road trip in Moscow, Idaho on Friday, Aug. 28, facing Utah Valley in a neutral site match beginning at 4 p.m. The team returns home for a match versus Eastern Washington at 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 31.
The Redhawks will take to the road for three games beginning at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. The following week SU will travel to Eugene, Ore. to take part in the Oregon Nike Tournament against a pair of Pacific-10 teams. On Friday, Sept. 11, they will face off with Oregon State at 4:30 p.m., and on Sunday, Sept. 13, SeattleU will play Oregon at 1 p.m.
SeattleU will play their first home match in the month of September on Sunday, Sept. 20, versus Utah State at 1 p.m. The solo home contest will be followed by a trip to Portland State on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. The team closes out the month at home versus the San Francisco Dons on Sunday, Sept. 27 in a 1 p.m. contest.
Much of October will be spent away from home, as five of the six matches scheduled will be on the road, beginning with a second trip to California for two games in San Diego. On Friday, Oct. 2, they will play UNLV at 1:30 p.m., and close out the weekend with the Aztecs of San Diego State two days later at 2 p.m. Following that road trip they will head back to Seattle for their final home contest of the season versus Washington State on Sunday, Oct. 11, at noon.
The Redhawks will close out 2009 in the Golden State for their final four games. They will open up the final leg of the season at Cal State Bakersfield on Friday, Oct. 16. After their 7 p.m. match with the Roadrunners, they will head to the coast for a game at UC Santa Barbara at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18. After a break of over a week, they will return to Southern California to take on the Waves of Pepperdine on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 3 p.m. and conclude the season at San Diego on Sunday, Nov. 1, with a 3 p.m. match.
This is the second consecutive season that SeattleU will be on the road for a majority of their games, as the team played 15 of their 20 games in 2008 on the road in their first season of Division I play. SU returns 14 letterwinners from last year’s squad that boasted a 12-5-3 overall record, including 10 wins over fellow DI opponents, an undefeated record at home with four wins and a lone tie, and six shutouts. As one of the designated “fast track” sports, the SeattleU women’s soccer team will be eligible to compete in the NCAA Tournament in 2010.