June 1, 2009

Click here to see the full 2009 women's soccer schedule.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - LMU Head Women's Soccer Coach Joe Mallia has challenged his squad with 11 road matches as the 2009 schedule was announced Monday. Mallia's Lions will play just eight home matches at Sullivan Field as part of a schedule that features contests against three Pac-10 opponents and five games against participants from the 2008 NCAA Championships. The Lions open play at UNLV on August 21 and will make their 2009 home debut on August 30 versus Northern Arizona.

LMU went 10-6-3 overall in 2008, Mallia's second year at the helm. The Lions turned in their second straight third-place finish in the West Coast Conference, posting a record of 5-2-0 and trailing only nationally-ranked Portland and San Diego in the WCC standings. In addition to the five opponents that made last year's postseason play, the 2009 schedule sees the Lions matching up in the non-conference slate against nine teams from the top-100 in RPI in 2008. LMU had an RPI of 50 last season.

"We've put together a very competitive non-conference schedule with the thought in mind of preparing ourselves for conference play as well as to boost our stature nationally," Mallia said. "As a program, our continued goal is to compete to win a WCC championship and to compete in the national tournament. To do so, we feel strongly that we need to schedule accordingly in our non-conference play. This schedule absolutely gives us the opportunity to achieve both goals."

The Lions kick off the schedule with the first two of seven non-conference road contests. On August 21, LMU travels to UNLV, followed by a visit to Cal State Northridge on August 27. The home opener falls on Sunday, August 30 against Northern Arizona in the first of the five games against NCAA Tournament participants. NAU went 12-7-3 last season to win the Big Sky Conference. The match against Northern Arizona starts a three-game home stand, which features visits by Vermont (September 4) and Houston (September 6) to Sullivan Field.

As the calendar hits mid-September, the Lions face back-to-back weekend tournaments in Oregon (September 11-13) and at UCLA (September 18-20). On September 11, LMU will play in the University of Oregon Tournament in Eugene, taking on the hosts on Friday and Oregon State on Sunday. The Ducks and Beavers comprise two of the three Pac-10 opponents on LMU's schedule.

Following the trip to Oregon, the Lions make the short journey up the 405 to Westwood, where they will compete against Missouri (September 18) and Utah (September 20). Missouri finished the 2008 season ranked 17th in the nation following a 16-5-2 campaign that saw them win the Big 12 Tournament title and earn a #4 national seed to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers advanced to the second round before being eliminated on penalty kicks. This will be the second straight year that the Lions will face a Big 12 opponent, having traveled to Oklahoma State last year. LMU's other opponent in the UCLA Tournament will be Utah, who finished as runners-up in the Mountain West last year after going 11-9-2. The Lions and Utes played to a 0-0 tie at Sullivan Field last year.

A third NCAA Tournament participant, Long Beach State, awaits the Lions when they return home on Friday, September 25. Long Beach State has won two of the last three Big West Conference regular season titles and made it to the NCAA Tournament last year with a 14-5-4 record. Two days later, LMU plays its final non-conference home match, hosting Cal State Bakersfield. The non-conference schedule concludes on October 2 with another Pac-10 foe, as LMU travels to Arizona.

For the eighth straight season, LMU will open West Coast Conference play against local rivals Pepperdine, making the trip up to Malibu on October 11. Each of the last five meetings between the Lions and Waves has been decided by a single goal, with four of those matches going into overtime.

LMU's only true homestand of WCC play comes the following weekend when the Lions host Gonzaga and Portland. Each game will be part of a women's/men's soccer doubleheader, with the Lion men playing after the women each day. On Friday, October 16, the women host Gonzaga, who they beat in overtime in Spokane last year. That is followed by a visit from defending conference champions Portland on Sunday. Portland's last trip to Sullivan Field came in 2006, the year of LMU's last NCAA Tournament appearance, and ended in a 0-0 tie.

All of the non-conference road games will come in handy as the Lions play three of their final four games of the WCC schedule away from home. On October 23, they head down to San Diego to face the Toreros, who advanced as far as the second round in last year's NCAA Tournament. That leads into a trip to perennial national powers Santa Clara on October 25. Last year, the Lions recorded their first win over Santa Clara since 2000 but the seven-time WCC champion Broncos will be looking for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament following last year's absence.

LMU will host its Senior Day at the final home contest on October 30 against San Francisco and the regular season concludes on November 7 with a trip to Saint Mary's.

"As usual, each and every WCC game will be a battle. We play the lions' share of our games on the road, which is going to be a test for this veteran team," Mallia said. "Having four of our seven conference games on the road makes our non-conference schedule all the more important as it prepares us for the rigors of WCC play. Having said that, this group has been put in this situation in the past and will be well-prepared for the challenge."

For tickets and other scheduling information, please visit www.LMULions.com.