SIUE women’s soccer announces 2015 schedule

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women’s soccer head coach Derek Burton revealed the schedule for the upcoming women’s soccer season, featuring eight home games against some of the nation’s top opponents.

SIUE, entering the season as the Ohio Valley Conference reigning regular season and tournament champions, begins the season with an exhibition game at home against Loyola on Saturday, Aug. 15.

The squad opens up the regular season with six consecutive away games that aim to test the team for the conference season, beginning with West Virginia on Aug. 21.

“We get to play teams outside of our region who are new to our schedule, and that’s always energizing,” said Burton. “I know our players are excited to get back to work and start a brand new journey.”

They will then head to Indiana (Aug. 23), Tulsa (Aug. 28), Oral Roberts (Aug. 30), Illinois-Chicago (Sept. 4), and Chicago State (Sept. 6).

The home schedule begins with a non-conference match against Saint Louis on Sept. 11 at Ralph Korte Stadium. The non-conference schedule continues with home matches against Western Illinois (Sept. 13) and Missouri State (Sept. 18).

The OVC schedule begins at Southeast Missouri (Sept. 25) and Tennessee-Martin (Sept. 27).

The Cougars open up OVC home play on Homecoming weekend with Jacksonville State on Oct. 2 and Belmont on Oct. 4. They will also host Morehead State (Oct. 9), Tennessee Tech (Oct. 11), and Eastern Kentucky (Oct. 18).

SIUE closes out the regular season by traveling to Murray State (Oct. 23), Austin Peay (Oct. 25), and Eastern Illinois (Oct. 30).

The OVC Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 5-8, hosted by the No. 1 seed.

“This is as challenging of a schedule as we’ve had,” said Burton. “We’ll be tested, without question. That’s exactly what I want for this group moving forward.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2015 at 12:58 PM with the headline "SIUE women’s soccer announces 2015 schedule."