April 22, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Women's Soccer 2008 Schedule in PDF Format | San Diego State Schedules in PDF Format
The San Diego State women's soccer team will play four opponents which advanced to last year's NCAA tournament, highlighting the Aztecs' 18-match 2008 schedule as announced Tuesday by head coach Mike Friesen. The upcoming season also features eight home dates at the SDSU Sports Deck, including clashes with four Mountain West Conference rivals.
"We are excited about a schedule that includes some very good teams," Friesen said. "Our non-conference slate features a couple of out-of-region opponents and that should help us to prepare for Mountain West play."
Six of the Aztecs' first seven matches will be contested away from the friendly environs of Montezuma Mesa as the Scarlet and Black kicks off its 2008 campaign with a pair of road tilts at Cal State Northridge (Aug. 22) and Cal Poly (Aug 24.).
"We will have to learn to play on the road early," Friesen said. "But I believe it will benefit us by the end of the season."
Following its home opener against Pac-10 foe Arizona State on Aug. 31, SDSU hits the road once again when it travels east to suburban Philadelphia, Pa., to face Big East Conference member Villanova on Sept. 5. The Aztecs will then remain at the Wildcats' venue to square off against 2007 NCAA tournament participant Loyola (Md.) two days later on Sept. 7.
The ensuing week finds SDSU heading to the Pacific Northwest for a pair of matches in Portland, Ore. The Aztecs will engage their second Pac-10 opponent of the season when they tackle Washington in a neutral-site clash on Sept. 12, followed by a showdown with the University of Portland on Sept. 14. Last season, the Pilots advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament where they fell to UCLA, 3-2, in overtime for the right to advance to the 2007 Women's College Cup.
The Aztecs get a brief respite from the road when they play host to UC Riverside at the Sports Deck on Sept. 19, before traveling north once again to lock horns with defending Big West Conference titlist Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 26.
SDSU then returns to "America's Finest City" for its longest homestand of the season when it takes on San Jose State on Sept. 28, before opening league play against defending MWC regular-season champion UNLV on Oct. 2. The Aztecs cap off their busy week three days later when they welcome Loyola Marymount to The Mesa on Oct. 5, in their final non-conference match of the regular season.
An excursion to the Beehive State awaits SDSU when it takes on Utah (Oct. 9) and Brigham Young (Oct. 11) in consecutive road contests. Last season, BYU defeated the Aztecs, 2-0, in the MWC quarterfinals en route to capturing the league's tournament title and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
The Scarlet and Black wraps up its 2008 regular-season conference slate with three out of four matches at home, sandwiching dates with Air Force (Oct. 17), Wyoming (Oct. 19) and TCU (Oct. 31) around a road trip to New Mexico (Oct. 24).
The MWC Championships will return to Las Vegas, Nev., for the third time in the league's 10-year history, Nov. 7-10, at Peter Johann Memorial Field on the campus of UNLV. The top six teams in the MWC advance to "Sin City" to compete for an automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA tournament. Early-round action will be held at campus sites, with the finals to be hosted by North Carolina State, Dec. 5 and 7, in Cary, N.C.
San Diego State is coming off a 2007 campaign in which it finished second in the MWC with a 4-2-1 league mark and a 9-8-3 record overall.