Soccer Announces 2010 Schedule
BOULDER - University of Colorado soccer coach Bill Hempen announced the team's 2010 schedule Wednesday, a tough slate highlighted by the annual Colorado Women's Soccer Classic, which features match-ups against 2009 Women's College Cup participants Purdue and UCLA at Prentup Field.
With just one season game still to be determined, the Buffs will play 19 regular season games and one exhibition contest, set for August 15 at home against Air Force. To open the season, the Buffs will partake in a few regional match-ups as Wyoming will visit Boulder on August 22 followed by Northern Colorado on August 29.
The Buffs will then play a pair of games at Denver, first against the Pioneers on Sept. 4 and then against either Drake or UNLV on Sept. 6. A trip to the northeast to face Gonzaga on Sept. 10 and Washington State on Sept. 12 precedes the Buffs' home tournament, which is set for Sept. 17 when the Buffs will face Purdue Sept. 17 and UCLA on Sept. 19.
Big 12 play begins as September winds down as the Buffs travel to College Station to play Texas A&M on Sept. 24 before hosting Texas on Sept. 26 to close out the month. A busy October opens with a trip to Texas to face Texas Tech on Oct. 1 and Baylor on Oct. 3, before returning home to face Missouri on Oct. 8 and Iowa State on Oct. 10.
The Oklahoma swing begins with a trip to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State on Oct. 15, followed by the trip to Norman to face Oklahoma on Oct. 17. The Buffs then close with the final three regular season games at home, with one game to be determined and tentatively slated for Oct. 22 before Kansas visits on Oct. 24 and Nebraska on Oct. 29.
The Big 12 championship will take place Nov. 3-7 in San Antonio, Texas, at the Blossom Soccer Stadium. The NCAA Tournament will then begin Nov. 12 and conclude with the 2010 College Cup on Dec. 3-5 in Cary, N.C.
The schedule features five match-ups against teams in the 2009 Women's College Cup, including UCLA, who advanced to the national semifinals, Denver and Purdue prior to conference play and Oklahoma State and Texas A&M in conference play.
Last season, the Buffs finished 9-10 overall and 6-4 in league play after jumping out to a 4-0 record in the Big 12. The Buffs lose seven seniors from last year's squad, including starters Kara Linder, Nikki Marshall and Kelly Menachof, but return seven players who started at least 10 games last season.