June 12, 2015 Inside LMU Women's Soccer | Complete 2015 Schedule | LMU on Facebook |
LOS ANGELES - Ten home contests and six opponents that made the 2014 NCAA Tournament field are among the 20-match slate released for the 2015 LMU women's soccer season.
Coming off a 9-8-2 campaign in 2014, and a highly successful spring season, the Lions hit the pitch for the first time this fall on August 15 for an exhibition match at UC Santa Barbara. The season then officially begins Friday, August 21 against Rutgers at the Penn State Tournament. LMU will wrap up its opening weekend by facing the host Nittany Lions. Both Rutgers and Penn State were in the NCAA Tournament field of 64 last fall, with Penn State reaching the quarterfinals.
The Lions follow the season-opening road trip with a five-match homestand on Sullivan Field. The stretch begins Friday, Aug. 28 against Bucknell, followed by Detroit (Sept. 4), Toledo (Sept. 6), Long Beach State (Sept. 11) and UC Riverside (Sept. 13).
LMU's non-conference matches conclude on the road at Weber State (Sept. 18), at Utah (Sept. 20) and at Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 25), the latter of which was the 2014 Big West Champion and earned an NCAA Tournament berth.
West Coast Conference play begins Oct. 2 and Oct. 4 as the Lions return home to host Saint Mary's and Pacific, respectively. Five of LMU's nine WCC matches will be contested at home as Portland (Oct. 23), Gonzaga (Oct. 25) and Pepperdine (Nov. 7) will also make the trip to Sullivan Field.
The Lions will travel to face Santa Clara (Oct. 9), San Francisco (Oct. 11), San Diego (Oct. 29) and BYU (Oct. 31). The Cougars clinched the 2014 league title, and the NCAA Tournament auto match berth while the Toreros and Waves also made the postseason field.
A young squad with just three seniors in 2014, the 2015 Lions return three All-WCC selections in senior midfielder Jocelyn Blankenship, senior forward Morgan Hilby and senior forward Shannon Kent. Also returning is sophomore forward Sarah Sanger who was named to the WCC All-Freshman team last fall.
