Soccer Announces 2010 Schedule
6/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
June 8, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Third year head coach Todd Bramble announced the 2010 Alabama soccer schedule on Tuesday. The schedule features a total of 18 games, including 10 that will be played at the Alabama Soccer Stadium and seven fixtures against teams that participated in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
"The level of competition and rhythm of this schedule should make for an exciting season," coach Bramble said. "Playing Samford and UAB on opening weekend means we will have to be sharp from the get go. While we won't have any easy games, I'm particularly interested to see how we will match up against Memphis and Texas Tech right before we begin SEC play. Memphis was an NCAA tournament team last year and I thought Texas Tech was one of the better squads we faced all of last season."
The official campaign will begin with an in-state matchup against Samford. The two teams will square off on Friday, Aug. 20 in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide will then head to Birmingham to play nearby UAB on Sunday, Aug. 22.
Alabama will continue its non-conference slate against Furman on Saturday, Aug. 28 in Tuscaloosa. For the second straight week the Tide will only play one match as it will host UT-Chattanooga on Sunday, Sept. 5.
The Crimson Tide will then play its first 2009 NCAA Tournament participant of the season against Memphis. The two teams will square off on Friday, Sept. 10 in Memphis. Alabama will wrap up the weekend back home against Middle Tennessee State on Sunday, Sept. 12.
Alabama will again host a single match the next week as Texas Tech comes to Tuscaloosa on Friday, Sept. 17. The two teams met last year in Lubbock, Texas, at the Red Raider Classic, where the Tide claimed the tournament title.
The Crimson Tide will immediately enter Southeastern Conference play by opening against the Mississippi schools. Alabama opens its SEC slate against NCAA Tournament participant Mississippi on Sept. 24 in Tuscaloosa before wrapping up the opening conference weekend against Mississippi State on Sunday, Sept. 26. Alabama will then hit the road for the first time in SEC action to face NCAA
The Tide will face tournament foe LSU on Friday, Oct. 1 in Baton Rouge and then close out the weekend against Arkansas on Oct. 3 in Fayetteville. UA will follow that up with a game against SEC regular season champion Florida at home on Oct. 8 and promptly host another NCAA Tournament qualifier and SEC Tournament champion in South Carolina on Oct. 10.
UA will begin to close out the season with four of its final five contests on the road, starting against Kentucky in Lexington on Oct. 15. Alabama then visits Vanderbilt in Nashville on Oct. 17 before playing its final home contest of the season against Georgia on Oct. 21.
Alabama concludes its regular season at Tennessee on Oct. 24 and then at rival Auburn on Oct. 29. The Tigers also earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
The SEC Tournament will once again be held in Orange Beach, Ala., and is scheduled to begin on Wednesday Nov. 3 and run through Nov. 7.
