May 6, 2009

2009 Schedule | 2009 Schedule

AUSTIN, Texas -- The University of Texas women's soccer team will play 19 regular season matches and one exhibition contest, according to the 2009 schedule released on Wednesday. The 2009 slate is highlighted by seven contests against teams that advanced to the 2008 NCAA Championship and 12 home matches, the most in the 15-year history of the program.

Head Coach Chris Petrucelli , who enters his 11th year at Texas, and the Longhorns will face California, Washington State, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Colorado and Texas A&M, all of which participated in last year's NCAA Tournament. UT will also take on two-time defending SEC Western Division Champion, Louisiana State (Aug. 14), in an exhibition match. 

"The schedule is tough and it will be difficult for a young team," Petrucelli assessed. "I feel like we are putting ourselves in situations where if we play well, we will have chances to win every game, but every game will be a challenge."

The Longhorns open the regular season with back-to-back home matches against TCU (Aug. 21) and Houston (Aug. 28). Texas then heads to California to face Saint Mary's (Sept. 4) and California (Sept. 6) before returning to Austin to close out non-conference play with a four-match home stand against Louisville (Sept. 11), Kentucky (Sept. 13), Washington State (Sept. 18) and New Mexico (Sept. 20).

"I think we have put together a challenging non-conference schedule," Petrucelli added. "It's a schedule that will test us early, playing some difficult opponents and putting our players in a position where they are going to have to perform at a high level early in the year."

Texas opens Big 12 action on the road at Oklahoma (Sept. 25) and Baylor (Sept. 27) before coming back to Mike A. Myers Stadium for a three-match stretch against Missouri (Oct. 2), Kansas (Oct. 4) and Loyola-Chicago (Oct. 9).

The Horns round out October with matches at Oklahoma State (Oct. 11), and Iowa State (Oct. 18), while Nebraska (Oct. 16), Texas Tech (Oct. 23) and Colorado (Oct. 25) are set to visit Austin.  A road contest at Texas A&M in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown (Oct. 30) closes out the regular season.

The Longhorns are coming off a season that produced their eighth-straight appearance in the NCAA Championship and their best nine-game start in program history (7-0-2). Texas held a spot in the nation's top 15 throughout the season and went on to finish with a 13-4-4 record.

All Texas soccer home matches are played at Myers Stadium on the UT campus. For ticket information, go to TexasBoxOffice.com or call 1-800-982-BEVO or 512-477-6060.