Five NCAA Tourney teams highlight UNCG's 2006 women's soccer schedule

GREENSBORO, NC – UNC Greensboro women’s soccer coach Eddie Radwanski announced his team’s 2006 schedule on Wednesday, featuring nine home games and a home exhibition date with Duke.

The Spartans will play one of their most challenging schedules, facing five ACC members, four of them during the regular season. In all, UNCG will face five teams that played in the 2005 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament.

UNCG finished the 2005 campaign 11-6-1, including a 6-3-1 mark in Southern Conference play. The Spartans advanced to the Southern Conference Tournament’s semifinal round, where they fell to tournament host Furman in overtime. UNCG graduates eight seniors off of that squad, but returns six regular starters.

“This is a strong schedule which will challenge our young team this coming season,” said Radwanski, who begins his sixth season as head coach at UNCG. “There will be some variety with the teams we play in 2006. We’ll face the ACC Champion last year in North Carolina, the SEC Champion Tennessee, Indiana from the Big Ten and Penn from the Ivy League. Add into that mix four more ACC teams in Duke for the exhibition game, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech & Miami. Playing these teams will help us become a better team and will get us ready for conference tournament play, and, if all goes well, the NCAA Tournament.”

UNCG begins the campaign with the Blue Devils of Duke in an exhibition match on Saturday, August 19 at UNCG Soccer Stadium. The Blue Devils finished last season ranked No. 16 in the country with a 14-6-1 mark, falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Last year, UNCG opened the regular season at Duke, falling to the Blue Devils in overtime, 1-0.

UNCG will travel to William & Mary on August 25 to open the season. The Tribe finished last season 7-4-9, allowing less than a goal per contest. The Spartans will then take on national power North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Tuesday, August 29. The Tar Heels finished last season 23-1-1 and ranked No. 5 in the country. They were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the third round last year, falling to Florida State in penalty kicks.

UNCG will open the home portion of its schedule three days later, hosting the UNCG Soccer Classic and two more ACC schools. The Spartans will face Virginia Tech on Friday, September 1 and Miami (FL) on September 3 as part of the annual classic.

The Spartans will travel to Knoxville, TN to play in the Tennessee Tournament one week later, taking on the host Lady Vols and Mercer. Tennessee finished last season 15-6-2 and ranked No. 15, falling to Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

UNCG will then face backyard rival Wake Forest, another NCAA Tournament participant last year, in Winston-Salem on September 12, before returning home to take on Pennsylvania and Indiana to close out the non-conference slate.

In Southern Conference action, UNCG will host Wofford, Western Carolina, Chattanooga, Davidson and Furman, while traveling to face Elon, Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, The Citadel and College of Charleston.

Season tickets for the 2006 women’s soccer season will go on sale July 1. For more information, contact the UNCG ticket office at (336) 334-3250.

2006 UNCG Women's Soccer Schedule
Aug. 19 Duke (exh.), 7 pm
Aug. 25 at William & Mary 7 pm
Aug. 29 at North Carolina 7 pm

UNCG Soccer Classic
Sept. 1 High Point vs. Miami, 5 pm / Virginia Tech vs. UNCG 7:30 pm
Sept. 3 Virginia Tech vs. High Point, 1 pm / UNCG vs. Miami, 3:30 pm
Sept. 8 at Tennessee (at Tennessee Tournament), 8 pm

Sept. 10 vs. Mercer (at Tennessee Tournament), 12:30 pm
Sept. 12 at Wake Forest, 7 pm
Sept. 15 Pennsylvania, 7 pm
Sept. 17 Indiana, 1 pm
Sept. 24 *at Elon, 2 pm
Sept. 29 *Wofford 7 pm
Oct. 1 *Western Carolina, 2 pm
Oct. 6 *Chattanooga, 7 pm
Oct. 8 *at Georgia Southern, 2 pm
Oct. 12 *at Appalachian State, 3 pm
Oct. 15 *Davidson, 2 pm
Oct. 21 *Furman, 7 pm
Oct. 27 *at The Citadel, 3 pm
Oct. 29 *at College of Charleston, 2 pm
Nov. 2-5 at Southern Conference Tournament (at Cullowhee, NC)

* Southern Conference match

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