Alabama Soccer Announces 2015 Schedule
6/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- University of Alabama first-year coach Wes Hart today announced the schedule for the upcoming 2015 soccer season. The Crimson Tide will open with an exhibition contest on August 13 at Vanderbilt, before kicking off its full 19-game schedule on August 21 at Memphis. The Tide will play 10 home matches at the Alabama Soccer Complex, and will square off against nine consecutive Southeastern Conference foes to close the regular season.
"The start of the 2015 season can't get here soon enough for me," said Hart. "I can't wait to take the field and officially begin to shape a new era of Alabama soccer. From coaching staff to players, there are a lot of new faces here, but I am very excited about the group we have in place. It's clear to me that we have some talented players in the fold."
The Crimson Tide will be challenged early, playing five of its first seven matches to begin the season on the road. Alabama will open with an exhibition contest on August 13 at Vanderbilt, and officially kick off the season on August 21 at Memphis. The Tide returns to Tuscaloosa for a pair of games with Troy and Wake Forest in late August, before heading back out on the road for three straight matches prior to opening SEC play.
"We've got a very challenging non-conference schedule," Hart added. "Opening up at Memphis will not be an easy task, and we'll have an opportunity to test ourselves early in the season against a very well-coached ACC team in Wake Forest. Our trip to the Northeast to square off with Rhode Island and Harvard will be a challenging final tune-up before beginning the conference season."
Alabama begins the conference slate on September 11 against LSU, facing conference opponents in 11 of its final 13 matches to close the season. The Tide will play four consecutive home matches from September 11-20, squaring off against LSU, Southern Miss, Kentucky and Jacksonville State.
The Tide then goes on the road to play Ole Miss and South Carolina to close out the month of September, before returning to Tuscaloosa to face Auburn on October 1.
Alabama will split the final six conference matches between Tuscaloosa and the road, facing Tennessee (October 11), Missouri (October 23) and Mississippi State (October 25) at home, while traveling to Texas A&M (October 9), Georgia (October 16) and Arkansas (October 29).
"After spending the past two seasons in the ACC, I'm thrilled to be coaching in the SEC," said Hart. "This conference has made a lot of noise and opened some eyes in recent years. We know that our conference schedule will not be easy. The SEC has established itself as one of the top conferences in the country, and I'm sure it will continue to improve."
In all, Alabama will face eight teams that appeared in the 2014 Women's College Cup, including five teams that advanced to the round of 16.
The 2015 SEC Tournament, set for November 2-8, will be played in Orange Beach, Ala. for the ninth consecutive season.
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