University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Women's Soccer Announces 2016 Schedule
06.21.2016 | Women's Soccer
ASHEVILLE, N.C. –The UNC Asheville women's soccer team will play 10 home matches this fall as part of its 19-game 2016 schedule, released this afternoon by head coach Michelle Demko.
The Bulldogs finished with an 11-9-0 overall record last season as they posted back-to-back winning campaigns following a 10-win 2014 season. Demko, now entering her seventh season on the Asheville sidelines, returns 21 players from last year's squad and adds five freshmen into the mix.
The 2016 campaign will feature five regular season non-conference and four Big South Conference matchups at Greenwood Field, with the Bulldogs also hosting La Salle in a home exhibition.
“Looking ahead to this fall season, I am as excited as ever to begin work with this group. With the bulk of the team returning along with five freshmen, I am hoping to pick up where we left off with regard to growth and team progress. This year's personnel will give us great depth on every line and a versatility that we've never had before. We could see any number of line ups and still be as strong as possible. That is what will make this season exciting, knowing we have a lot of pieces to the puzzle,” Demko stated.
“We will need to come together pretty quickly as our tests will come early in the season starting with La Salle in the preseason exhibition then five days later in our home opener with Tennessee Tech. The purpose and importance of the non-conference schedule is for us to see what we are made of early on, how we respond to different game environments as well as try and establish a rhythm before heading into an always competitive Big South schedule."
Following the exhibition contest against La Salle on August 14, Asheville will open the regular season with a home match against Tennessee Tech on August 19 before facing a four-game road trip that will include meetings with The Citadel, Wofford, Western Carolina and UAB to close August.
Four of the Bulldogs' next five matches will come at home as September comes on the calendar, with the lone road trip to USC Upstate (Sept. 8) sandwiched between home matches against Kennesaw State (Sept. 4), South Carolina State (Sept. 10), North Dakota State (Sept. 16) and Alabama A&M (Sept. 18) at Greenwood Field.
Asheville will open Big South play at Charleston Southern before a pair of home matches against Radford (Sept. 28) and Campbell (Oct. 1) push into the heart of the conference season. The Bulldogs will travel to Presbyterian (Oct. 5) and High Point (Oct. 8) before exchanging home and road contests the remainder of the Big South schedule.
The Bulldogs will host Gardner-Webb on October 12 before traveling to Longwood (Oct. 15). Asheville will close out the home portion of the schedule on October 19 against Winthrop while the regular season finale comes on October 22 at Liberty before Big South Tournament play begins on October 28.
