CHICAGO, Ill. – The Illinois Institute of Technology women's soccer team is excited to announce its 2018 schedule. This year's rundown features 20 total matches, nine at Stuart Field, and 11 against Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) opponents.
"This Fall marks a very exciting time for Illinois Tech Athletics and for our women's soccer program, as we will be ushering in our school's official membership as a NCAA DIII program and a member of the NACC," said Head Coach Roshane Ellison. "Both memberships provide us a greater sense of visibility and identity, which our student-athletes are very excited about."
After an exhibition against North Central College on August 26, the Scarlet Hawks open the regular season with two home non-conference matches. On Saturday, September 1, Tech plays host to Anderson University (Indiana) at Stuart Field at 1:00 p.m. The next day, Whitman College, which is located in Walla Walla, Washington, travels to Chicago to play the Scarlet Hawks at 12:00 p.m.
The season-opening weekend is not the only busy one for Tech, as the Scarlet Hawks will play on both Saturday and Sunday of the schedule's first three weekends. The next two Saturdays feature trips to Lake Forest College (September 8) and Beloit College (September 15), while the Sundays are home contests against Alma College (September 9) and Lawrence University (September 16). In addition, a road weeknight match at Carroll University (September 12) will help prepare the Scarlet Hawks for the rigors of conference play.
In the early portion of the NACC schedule, the Scarlet Hawks will be tested. On September 19, Tech opens the conference slate at Aurora University, last year's third-place finisher in conference play. Three days later, the Scarlet Hawks will play at Milwaukee School of Engineering; the top seed in last season's conference tournament. The two road matches are followed by Tech's conference home opener on Wednesday, September 26 against Benedictine; a NACC Tournament semi-finalist in 2017.
The Scarlet Hawks will host another NACC foe on September 29 (Wisconsin Lutheran) before traveling to North Park University on October 1 for a non-conference matchup. Then, the Scarlet Hawks will play five straight NACC contests: road contests at Concordia University Chicago (October 3), Alverno College (October 6), and Lakeland University (October 17) and home matches versus Marian University (October 10) and Concordia University Wisconsin (October 13, Senior Day).
The end of October also presents Tech with some strong challenges. On Thursday, Ocotber 18, the Scarlet Hawks will play at University of Chicago (last season's NCAA Division III Tournament runner-up) in the final non-conference match of the season. Then, after a road NACC match against Edgewood on October 21, the regular season and home schedule wraps up on Wednesday, October 24 against last season's NACC Tournament Champion: Dominican University.
If the Scarlet Hawks finish with one of the six-best conference records in the 12-team league, Tech will qualify for the NACC Tournament. The tournament's quarterfinal round is slated for Saturday, October 27, which precedes the Semifinals (Tuesday, October 30) and the Tournament Championship (Saturday, November 3). All games in the tournament will be played at the highest seed. The NACC Tournament champion, along with any selected at-large bids from the conference, will qualify for the NCAA Division III Tournament.
"We have a very competitive schedule this Fall, but one that we are extremely excited for and confident about," said Ellison. "With a great mixture of experience and youthful enthusiasm on our roster, we will be competitive in our conference."
Illinois Tech women's soccer looks to build off of an 8-10-1 record last season and a +21 goal differential (58-37). All home matches this year are expected to have live audio, video, and statistics. All live audio will be powered by Illinois Media School.