SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Notre Dame Women’s soccer released its 2010 schedule today. The Falcons will kick off their 2010 campaign on Sept. 4, and look to continue their recent string of successful seasons. (
Schedule)
Notre Dame will open their season on Sept. 4, at a tournament hosted by Martin Methodist College (Tenn.) in Pulaski, Tenn. The Blue & White will play their first match of the season against the high-powered Lady Crusaders of William Carey (Miss.). Last year, William Carey went 20-2-1, finishing third in the nation and made it to the Sweet 16 in the NAIA National Tournament. On the second day of the tournament, the Falcons will face Martin Methodist. A year ago (2009), Martin finished the season as the No. 6 NAIA team in the nation, finishing with a 16-3-2 mark. The match against William Carey will be the first of four non-conference tilts, with the first three of those contests being on the road.
NDC opens its home schedule on Sept. 15, when they host Rochester College (Mich.). Korb Field in Lyndhurst, Ohio, will once again serve as the Falcons’ home field in 2010. Head Coach Mike Shiels’ squad went 5-2 at home last season, after posting a perfect 7-0 record at the Brush High School facility in 2008. Notre Dame will then open its American Mideast Conference slate on Sept. 18, when they take on the Cougars of Mount Vernon Nazarene.
“We are really looking forward to next season and believe that the tough non-conference schedule will prepare us for another run at a conference championship,” said Shiels, who returns to College Road for his eighth season. “Opening up against two top-notch teams will give us a good feel for where we are at the start of the season.”
Last year’s combined record of NDC’s 2010 opponents is 137-111-27. The schedule includes seven matches at home, including a stretch of four out of five games from Oct. 9-23. The Falcons will also play seven road matches and are lined up for one neutral-site affair (Sept. 4, vs. William Carey in Pulaski, Tenn.).
The slate calls for five non-conference matches and 10 AMC tilts. There are eight in-state matches and six that will take place outside the Buckeye State (New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia).
Under Shiels, Notre Dame Women’s Soccer has flourished the past few years. The program has gone 47-24-3 (.635) the last four years (2006-09) and in 2008 earned its first-ever national ranking (No. 23, Sept. 23). In 2009, Notre Dame went 12-7 overall, and placed third in the 14-team AMC with an 8-3 conference record.