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The USF women’s soccer team released their 2019 schedule, and it’s the strongest slate scheduled by head coach Denise Schilte-Brown in recent memory.
NEW SCHEDULE ALERT
— USF Women's Soccer (@USFWSOC) June 17, 2019
We get back on the pitch in August, and will kick off the regular season at home for the 3rd straight season! We have an exciting lineup ahead, and this team can't wait to put its hard work back on the field!
READ: https://t.co/LqiUZ4nKmv#HornsUp pic.twitter.com/VS48xxGTsC
The Bulls have two exhibitions to lead up to the season, the first at Stetson on Aug. 13 and the second in Tampa vs. North Texas on Aug. 16 before a monster home slate to start the year.
The season opens on Aug. 22 at home vs. Auburn, followed by Florida on Aug. 25. The Bulls also host Ohio State the next Sunday, Sep. 1. There’s a game up the road at Saint Leo on Aug. 29.
The Bulls then head to San Antonio to face Rice and University of Texas San Antonio. The road trip then heads to Wake Forest before a home game against Texas Tech on Sep. 21 before conference play begins at home. The home conference games are:
- Tulsa - Sep. 26
- Memphis - Sep. 29
- UConn - Oct. 17
- Temple - Oct. 20
The Bulls get Houston and SMU on the road on the same weekend, and end the season with three straight away games: Cincinnati, ECU, UCF.
Non-conference opponents finished last season with a series of high RPIs and Top 25 rankings. Texas Tech and Wake Forest finished last season #24 and #25 respectively. Auburn finished the season with an RPI of #34, Ohio State at #48, and Florida at #57. Florida was the only team not to make the NCAA last year.
The Bulls return almost the entire roster from the regular-season champion team that outscored the conference 23-6 last season, dropping a single game to Temple. They dropped the conference tournament final, then drew eventual NCAA Champions and #1 seed FSU in the second round of the NCAA.
Highlighting the returning players is USF’s most prolific goal scorer Evelyne Viens, for her final season. The Canadian striker has found the net 48 times in her USF career, including a record-breaking 20 times last season.
The biggest question for the Bulls will be who replaces centerback Kelli Burney on the back line. There might be glitches on defense early, but every member of the #1 scoring attack in the NCAA returns.
The slate sets up to be one of the biggest seasons in women’s soccer history, and hopefully a fitting send-off for USF’s best ever player.