Photo by: Sideline Sports
‘Cats Look to Carry Over 2009 Success; 2010 W. Soccer Schedule Released
7/27/2010 11:46:14 AM | Women's Soccer
Gavin McFarlin -- Assistant SID
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Coming off the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance, the Davidson women's soccer team will look to carry over their 2009 success with the release of the 2010 schedule as announced by head coach Greg Ashton.
The 2010 campaign will feature an in-season tournament at College of Charleston with games against Presbyterian College and Big Ten foe Iowa, along with a trip to the state of Texas where the 'Cats will play for the first time in program history, Texas A&M and Southern Methodist. In addition to those games, Davidson will also have non-conference tilts against UNC Wilmington, High Point and cross-county rival Charlotte all in the month of August, to go along with their 11-game slate in the Southern Conference.
The Wildcats are coming off a magical 2009 season that saw them win the program's fourth SoCon Tournament Title and make the NCAA Tournament for the first time. They hit the 10-win mark for the sixth straight year last season, closing out with a 12-10-1 mark, and finishing fourth in regular-season league play with a 7-3-1 record. The 'Cats return 16 letterwinners, including seven starters.
Davidson will get the luxury of playing in front of its home crowd early as the Wildcats will play three of the first four games to open 2010 in August at Alumni Stadium, with one of those games being an exhibition against Liberty. A year ago, they sported a 6-3 record at home and are 31-11-4 during the past five seasons.
Visiting Alumni Stadium will be Liberty (Aug. 16), UNC Wilmington (Aug. 22) and High Point (Aug. 29), with the Seahawks and Panthers each reaching the NCAA Tournament a season ago. Davidson has had High Point's number, winning the last six meetings, including the last four at home. On the other hand vs. UNCW, Davidson has dropped its last three, which includes last year's 4-0 setback.
The lone away game during the August stretch is just down the road Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. against rival Charlotte, which is coming off a 16-3-2 record. The 'Cats had a three-match win streak vs. the 49ers prior to last year's 2-0 defeat.
The next four games to open September has the 'Cats hitting the road, starting with their trip to Texas. They will play at Texas A&M, which is fresh off a trip to the Sweet 16 and return 24 letterwinners from that team, Sept. 9, and then finish out the trip with a game in Dallas against Southern Methodist on the 5th. The Mustangs were 7-11-1 last year.
Davidson will head to Charleston, S.C. for its next two contests as it plays at the College of Charleston Tournament, Sept. 10-12. It will square off against Presbyterian College first and then face the Iowa Hawkeyes, who were 9-10 last season. The last time the 'Cats played in the CofC Tourney, they took home the 2007 tournament title with solid wins against SEC schools Vanderbilt and LSU.
Returning home, the Wildcats close out their non-conference schedule with a matchup vs. Winthrop, Sept. 19. They opened last season with a 3-1 win over the Eagles and own a 2-0-1 all-time record in the series.
Davidson closes out the month of September with two more home contests, while also opening up SoCon play in those two games vs. Furman and Wofford, Sept. 24 and 26. The Wildcats defeated both of those squads last year at home by the scores of 1-0 and 4-0. Despite trailing in the all-time series vs. the rival Paladins, they have won three of the past five meetings. Over the last six years Davidson has gone 5-0-2 against the Terriers and outscored them 11-1 in those seven games combined.
The 'Cats will then take to the road for four straight contests to open October as they play at Elon, UNC Greensboro, Appalachian State and Western Carolina. They will be looking to avenge regular season losses to ASU?and WCU from a year ago, while looking to improve on their seven-game win streak vs. the Phoenix. Davidson has not allowed a goal to the Phoenix since Oct. 9, 2003 when Elon captured a 4-0 win.
Davidson and UNC Greensboro will square off for the 26th time, Oct. 3, and the 'Cats hope to keep up their winning ways vs. the Spartans. Last season saw them halt the Spartans' 33-game unbeaten streak in league play with a thrilling 2-1 win at home during the regular season. The Wildcats then upset the top-seeded Spartans, 1-0, in the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament on their way to the championship title. The last three meetings between the two schools have each been decided by a single goal.
The final five regular season games will see Davidson playing three of those at home. It will host College of Charleston, Oct. 14, in a rematch of last season's SoCon finals, before going to The Citadel on the 17th. CofC went 12-7-2 last year and 8-3 in SoCon action, while the Bulldogs were much improved a season ago as its eight league points were a school record, earning Bob Winch Coach of the Year honors.
Davidson comes home to face Samford and Chattanooga over the weekend of the 22nd-24th, before heading to Statesboro, Ga. to face Georgia Southern in the last regular season game, Oct. 28. The Wildcats' lone tie last year came at Samford, while it owns a 17-8 all-time record against the Eagles and have captured wins in seven of the last eight meetings.
The SoCon Tournament will return to its eight-team format, with the four higher seeds hosting the first round, Oct. 31. The semifinals and championship game will be hosted by Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C., Nov. 5 and 7.
Since 1994, the first year the Wildcats were members of the SoCon, Davidson has gone 16-11 in the conference tournament and taken home the championship title four times — 1994, '95, '96 and 2009.
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