Laura Farrelly may have travelled halfway around the world to continue her soccer career, but the Marshall freshman just can’t get away from the Aussies as she takes on Fairleigh Dickinson and their Aussie captain Sam Roff in their opening game of the season. Fairleigh Dickinson may play in the much smaller Northeast Conference when compared to Marshall’s Conference-USA, but it’s Roff and the Knights who are coming off a much more successful 2017, having compiled a 9-8-4 record, whilst Marshall managed just five wins last year. Marshall then face Army in their second game of the week, a team also looking to improve in 2018 after a fairly dismal 4-11-2 season in 2017.
There’ll be no bedding in period for Ashleigh Lefevre and her fellow Illinois freshmen as the Fighting Illini travel to the Southeast to take on two national powerhouses in North Carolina and Duke in their first two games of the season. It certainly is a tough start for an Illinois side looking to bounce back from a 2017 in which they finished with just four wins, particularly considering that both North Carolina and Duke will be in the mix for a national championship come the end of the season. If Illinois can pick up even a point on the road in these two games, it will certainly be a confidence boaster for a team playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation.
Claudia Jenkins spent her first season at La Salle as backup goalkeeper, but has the chance to secure a starting berth this season, and with fellow Australian, freshman Alyssa Van Heurck, in the backline, the Explorers could be heavily reliant on their Aussie pair to keep the goals out. Whilst their first game of the season will be against Syracuse, it is their match against UMBC later in the week that looms as the most interesting as UMBC’s new head coach this season is Australia’s own Vanessa Mann. For La Salle, these two games will hopefully form the springboard for a campaign that ends in a return trip to the NCAA Tournament, whilst for UMBC, they will be hoping that Mann’s reign as head coach can start on the front foot.
Of course, there are plenty of other freshmen and junior college transfers looking to kick off their Division I careers in the best way possible. Including those already mentioned, a grand total of 12 Australians could make their Division I debuts this weekend, with eyes especially focused on Tenille Harberger, Lorena Bugden, and Lauren Featherstone, who all missed out on playing in their first seasons for various reasons and will be hungry to make an impact from the outset.
Finally, the title favourite pairing of Beattie Goad’s Stanford side and Teagan Micah’s UCLA outfit kick off their seasons against a pair of in-state opponents as they begin a campaign that both teams will be hoping results in a return trip to the championship game. UCLA host Long Beach State, whilst Stanford will make the short drive north to face UC Davis. Both teams will be expected to win handsomely, and it will be interesting to see if Goad in particular can secure increased playing time in the early stages of 2018.
Full Schedule:
Akron (Freyja Murray)
This week: v Morehead State – 9am, Saturday August 18
Albany (Claire Urquhart)
This week: @ Arizona – 12pm, Saturday August 18; v New Mexico – 5am, Monday August 20
Chicago State (Sarah Clark)
This week: @ Youngstown State – 9am, Saturday August 18; at Cleveland State – 3am, Monday August 20
Colorado (Isobel Dalton)
This week: v Air Force – 10am, Saturday August 18; v Colorado State – 7:30am, Monday August 20
Drexel (Emma Heckenberg)
This week: v Rider – 9am, Saturday August 18; @ Rutgers – 7am, Monday August 20
East Tennessee State (Isabel Hodgson)
This week: v George Mason – 9am, Friday August 17
Fairleigh Dickinson (Sam Roff)
This week: v Marshall – 9am, Saturday August 18; @ Providence – 3am, Monday August 20
Georgia Southern (Hannah Allen)
This week: at Florida Gulf Coast – 9am, Saturday August 18; v Chattanooga – 3am, Monday August 20
Grand Canyon (Sandra Hill)
This week: @ Gonzaga – 12pm, Saturday August 18; @ Washington State – 6am, Monday August 20
Hofstra (Monique Iannella, Grace Watson-Carr)
This week: @ Bucknell – 3am, Saturday August 18; v Fairfield – 3am, Monday August 20
Illinois (Ashleigh Lefevre)
This week: @ North Carolina – 7am, Friday August 17; @ Duke – 3am, Monday August 20
La Salle (Claudia Jenkins, Alyssa Van Heurck)
This week: @ Syracuse – 8am, Friday August 17; v UMBC – 3am, Monday August 20
LSU (Caitlin Cantrill)
This week: v Villanova – 4am, Monday August 20
Marshall (Laura Farrelly)
This week: @ Fairleigh Dickinson – 9am, Friday August 17; @ Army – 3am, Monday August 20
Nicholls State (Tessa Calabria, Tenille Harberger, Kristy Helmers)
This week: v North Dakota – 7am, Saturday August 18; v Grambling – 4am, Monday August 20
North Dakota State (Lauren Featherstone)
This week: @ Wisconsin – 10am, Friday August 17; at Green Bay – 4am, Monday August 20
Old Dominion (Gaby Bentley)
This week: v East Carolina – 9am, Saturday August 18; v Mount St. Mary’s – 8am, Monday August 20
Southeast Missouri State (Siena Senatore)
This week: v Evansville – 9:30am, Friday August 17
St. Francis University (Shelby Milton)
This week: @ Radford – 9am, Friday August 17; v Canisius – 4am, Monday August 20
Stanford (Beattie Goad)
This week: @ UC Davis – 9am, Saturday August 18
Texas Tech (Demi Koulizakis)
This week: v New Mexico – 10:15am, Saturday August 18; v Pepperdine – 10am, Monday August 20
Towson (Jodie Burchell)
This week: @ South Florida – 9am, Friday August 17; @ Stetson – 3am, Monday August 20
UCLA (Teagan Micah)
This week: v Long Beach State – 12pm, Saturday August 18
Western Carolina (Kate Swartwout)
This week: @ Kennesaw State – 9am, Saturday August 18; v UNC Asheville – 2am, Monday August 20
William & Mary (Lorena Bugden)
This week: v Maryland – 6:30am, Friday August 17; v Dayton – 1:30am, Monday August 20
Wyoming (Annika Clayton, Jessie Gentle)
This week: @ South Dakota – 7am, Friday August 17; v Utah Valley – 5am, Monday August 20
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