Women's soccer schedule announced

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Petrucelli Announces 2018 Women's Soccer Schedule

To see the full 2018 schedule, CLICK HERE

DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's soccer team is gearing up for its 33rd campaign on the pitch, as head coach Chris Petrucelli announced his squad's 2018 schedule.

The 17-match campaign features four opponents that participated in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, including conference foes UCF and USF. The Mustangs will play seven of their contests within the friendly confines of Westcott Field and 10 on the road.

"This schedule will certainly challenge our team," SMU head coach Chris Petrucelli said. "The non-conference portion of our schedule should help us compete against difficult American Athletic Conference competition later in the year. We will face a number of very talented teams throughout this schedule and we will have to be ready to play each night. There are no easy games in college soccer. I'm excited to see how our team handles the different environments we will be facing. In the end, you want a schedule that prepares the team for postseason play. I'm positive we will be prepared for anything when we get to November."

SMU will open the year with a pair of exhibition contests, first hosting the Solar Boys Club on Aug. 7, before a final tune-up match at North Texas on Aug. 12.

The 2018 regular season officially kicks off Aug. 16 in Dallas, as SMU hosts Depaul. Petrucelli's squad will then hit the road for its first road game, battling at Long Beach State on Aug. 19.

After the quick trip to California, the Mustangs return to Texas for a pair of road contests. SMU will open the intrastate trip at Rice on Aug. 23, before a Sunday night rivalry-showdown at TCU on Aug. 26.

Westcott Field will see its final two non-conference games on Sept. 2 and Sept. 9, as Houston Baptist and Florida International come to town. SMU will round off the non-conference slate in the Centennial State, with matches at Northern Colorado (Sept. 13) and Colorado State (Sept. 16).

The Mustangs open American Athletic Conference play at home against Temple, Thursday, Sept. 20, before clashing with Connecticut (Sept. 23). SMU will sandwich two home games, Tulsa (Oct. 4) and Memphis (Oct. 7), in between a pair of road trips to wrap up the regular season.

SMU will close out September on its first conference road trip, heading to Cincinnati on Sept. 27 before visiting East Carolina on Sept. 30. After the short two-game stint at home, the Mustangs head to Florida to take on UCF (Oct. 18) and USF (Oct. 21). SMU's 2018 regular season will wrap up on the road, as the Mustangs head to Houston to take on the Cougars on Friday, Oct. 26.

The American Athletic Conference Championship takes place Oct. 31-Nov. 4. The location to be determined.

Schedule Breakdown:
Overall: 17 games
Non-Conference: 8 games
AAC: 9 games
Home: 7 games
Away: 10 games
Texas Teams: 4

First Time Opponents:
The SMU schedule will feature a pair of first-time opponents for the Mustangs in Depaul (Aug. 16) and Long Beach State (Aug. 19).

Lifelong Opponents:
Of their non-conference opponents, the Mustangs have played TCU the most times, with their 34th meeting coming Aug. 26. SMU's most common AAC foe is Tulsa, who it will face off against for the 34th time on Oct. 4 at Westcott Field. The series between the Mustangs and Golden Hurricane started in 1987. The two sides have squared off every year since then except for in 2013.

AAC Openers:
The Mustangs open the American Athletic Conference slate at home on Thursday, Sept. 20 versus Temple. SMU defeated the Owls in Philadelphia last year, 2-0. SMU's first AAC road match will come a week later at Cincinnati, Thursday, Sept. 27.