UC Riverside Head Women’s Soccer Coach Nat Gonzalez released the team’s 2012 schedule, and it includes four matches against 2011 NCAA College Cup participants as well as the Highlanders first trip to newest conference member Hawai’i. (View The 2012 Schedule)
The season begins on Friday, August 17 as UCR hosts CSU Bakersfield at 7 pm PT, and the Highlanders take their first road trip two days later to Southern Utah for a 3 pm kick off. On Sunday, August 28, UCR travels to Santa Clara, who received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament a year ago finishing the year ranked 17th in the nation according to Soccer America.
UC Riverside is hosting two tournaments in 2012. The first is slated for Friday, August 31 and Sunday, September 2, and features UTEP, Southern Utah and New Mexico State. The second tournament is scheduled for Friday, September 21 and Sunday, September 23, and includes Lamar, UC Davis and 2011 NCAA College Cup participant New Mexico.
Big West Conference play gets underway on Friday, September 28 as the Highlanders host conference tournament champion Long Beach State at 5 pm. The 49ers finished the season ranked 24th in the nation, and advanced to the Elite Eight of the College Cup in 2011 before falling to eventual runner up Duke.
The Big West’s regular season champion, UC Irvine, travels to the UCR Soccer Stadium on Sunday, September 30 at 6 pm. The Anteaters ended the 2011 campaign ranked 21st in the country.
UC Riverside packs its bags for Hawai’i to battle the Rainbow Wahine on Friday, Octo
ber 5, and the regular season concludes with a Sunday, October 28 meeting at UC Davis. The Big West Conference Tournament will take place on Thursday, November 1 and Sunday, November 4.
The Highlanders are coming off of a season that saw them improve from one to eight wins as they battled for a conference playoff berth heading into the final match of the year.
Women’s Soccer season tickets go on sale beginning Monday, July 2. A regular season ticket is available for just $40, with discounted tickets available for $30. For more information, please contact Highlander Tickets via email or by calling 951-827-4653.
