Ten Home Dates Highlight 2015 Bulldog Soccer Schedule
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Ten home dates and 10 contests against NCAA Tournament teams highlight Mississippi State’s 2015 soccer schedule that was unveiled Thursday.
Three NCAA Tournament squads appear on the non-conference schedule as Mississippi State hosts South Alabama and travels to Tampa to face South Florida and Florida Gulf Coast.
“We really like the 2015 schedule we put together, and we feel that we have put together one that is competitive. Exhibition games against good UT Martin and Memphis teams will really help our young team get prepared for the season,” Gordon said. “Having 10 games against NCAA teams from a year ago will certainly help us as we try to take that next step into postseason play.
“We open the regular season against a dangerous South Alabama team that won its conference and advanced to the NCAA Tournament the last two years. We also have a tough road trip against a pair of NCAA teams in South Florida and Florida Gulf Coast, so we have a challenging non-conference slate that is really going to get us ready for our SEC opener against a good Vanderbilt squad.”
Seven of the team’s 11 SEC matches will be against NCAA Tournament teams with home dates against Missouri, Kentucky, Florida and Auburn, and road dates against Arkansas, Texas A&M and Georgia. Of those, Kentucky advanced to the third round while Florida made the quarterfinals and Texas A&M the semifinals.
The Bulldogs open Aaron Gordon’s third season at the helm with a road exhibition against Tennessee Martin on Aug. 12 and a home friendly against Memphis on Aug. 15.
The regular season kicks off when South Alabama, who lost to eventual NCAA champion Florida State in the postseason, comes to Starkville on Aug. 21. Opening weekend concludes with a home date against Murray State two days later.
State hits the road for the first time when it faces NCAA Tournament squads South Florida (Aug. 28) and Florida Gulf Coast (Aug. 30) in Tampa.
MSU opens September at home against Nicholls State (Sept. 4) and in-state foe Southern Miss (Sept. 6) before hitting the road to start SEC play against Vanderbilt on Sept. 11.
“There’s no easy games in the Southeastern Conference,” Gordon said. “Having more games on the road than at home in conference play this season makes it that much more challenging, so the experience this young team gained last year will be valuable in having us ready to go.”
The trek to Nashville begins a three-game road trip as State wraps the non-conference slate at Lipscomb on Sept. 13 before returning to conference action at Arkansas on Sept. 20.
The Maroon and White opens the home SEC slate Sept. 25 against Tennessee before starting a stretch of five-straight games against NCAA Tournament teams. State hosts three of those contests – Missouri (Sept. 27), Kentucky (Oct. 11) and Florida (Oct. 16) – while hitting the road to Texas A&M on Oct. 2 and Georgia on Oct. 9.
Following a road weekend at LSU (Oct. 23) and Alabama (Oct. 25), the Bulldogs wrap the regular season at home against Auburn on Oct. 29.
This year’s SEC Tournament will be played in Orange Beach, Ala., Nov. 2-8.
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