Wednesday, July 26, 2006

PC Releases 2006 Women’s Soccer Schedule

2006 PC Women's Soccer Schedule

CLINTON, S.C. -- A tough non-conference schedule which includes matches against High Point and Clayton State, in addition to a challenging conference slate, highlights the 2006 schedule for the Presbyterian women’s soccer team. The schedule, released by coach Brian Purcell on Wednesday, features seven home games at Martins Stadium at Edens Field.

As an added bonus, the team will play a total of 10 games in the Palmetto State this season.

The preseason is highlighted with a kick-off event on Aug. 19, as the Blue Hose make the short trek to Spartanburg, S.C. to play a round robin style exhibition against USC-Upstate and Limestone.

The regular season begins in Savannah, Ga. on Sept. 1 where the Blue Hose will face off against Armstrong Atlantic in a 5 p.m. kickoff.

Martin Stadium sees its first action on Sept. 3 as the team hosts East Stroudsburg at 1 p.m. PC remains at home, where they were 4-2-1 in 2005, to face Erskine at 7p.m. on Sept. 6. The longest home stand of the season will conclude on Sept. 9 as the Blue Hose begin the final season of South Atlantic Conference play against Lenoir-Rhyne.

The Blue Hose remain in the Palmetto State with a Sept. 13 game at USC Aiken at 7 p.m. The team stays on the road for the next game: a conference match at Carson-Newman, a team that was ranked No. 23 in the country last season.

The Sept. 20 contest against Newberry marks the 13^th and final edition of the Newberry series as a conference rivalry. The game commences at 7 p.m. on the evening and will be a revenge contest for the Blue Hose due to a 3-1 setback last season to the Lady Indians. Nevertheless, the Blue Hose have dominated the rivalry all-time, posting a 9-2-1 record against the Lady Indians and outscoring their opponent 57-9 since the two teams first met in 1995.

After a match at Tusculum on Sept. 23, the Blue Hose return home for a match against Francis Marion on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at Martin Stadium before embarking on the longest road stretch of the season.

The team heads to Harrogate, Tenn. on Sept. 29 for a 2 p.m. contest against Lincoln Memorial. Following that match, is a 7 p.m. showdown at Clayton State on Oct. 2. The team finishes the road stretch with a 7 p.m. match on Oct. 4 at soon-to-be league foe High Point of the Big South Conference.

Wingate comes to town on Oct. 6 for a 7 p.m. kickoff. PC then travels to Mars Hill on Oct. 10 to try and settle the deadlock leftover from a 4-4 tie last season.

The final road game of the season is Oct. 16 at Converse in Spartanburg, S.C. Last season eight different players tallied a point in the Blue Hose’s 7-0 victory.

Presbyterian is at home for the final match of the season. Billed senior day, the Blue Hose face a Catawba team that sent them out of the SAC tournament with a 1-0 defeat last season.

The first round of the SAC Tournament begins Oct. 24 at the home field of the higher seed. The Food Lion/South Atlantic Conference Final Four is to be played Oct. 28-30 in Hickory, N.C. on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne.

The first and second rounds of the 2006 NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championship will take place on Nov. 3 and 5. The semifinals and final will take place over the weekend of Nov. 16 and 18. The event will be held in conjunction with the inaugural NCAA Fall Festival at Brosnaham Park in Pensacola, Fla.