OXFORD, Miss. Five Southeastern Conference home matches and additional non-league home contests with Big 12 powers Colorado and Oklahoma highlight Ole Miss Soccer’s 2008 schedule, announced by head coach Steve Holeman Monday.
“We’re all getting excited about the upcoming season,” Holeman said. “Our non-conference schedule includes several quality soccer programs and should present us with challenges that will help prepare us for league play. Hosting Colorado and Oklahoma should be a great weekend for the fans and will help get us ready for the rigors of SEC competition.”
The Rebels kick off fall action with an exhibition match at Samford on Aug. 16, followed by the season opener at Western Kentucky on Aug. 22. After a road trip to Dallas to face SMU and TCU, Ole Miss will host the first of four straight matches in Oxford with the Sept. 5 home opener against the Mid-South rival Memphis Tigers, followed by a Sept. 7 date with Southern Miss.
The weekend of Sept. 12-14 will have a distinct Big 12 flavor in Oxford as nationally ranked Colorado visits for a Friday night showdown, and Oklahoma comes to town for a Sunday matinee. Ole Miss closes out the non-league slate with a road game at Middle Tennessee on Sept. 19.
The Rebels host five league foes in 2008, including the opening weekend against Arkansas (Sept. 26) and LSU (Sept. 28). Other home matches are against nationally ranked East foes Tennessee (Oct. 17) and Georgia (Oct. 19), as well as Kentucky (Oct. 26).
League road contests will take Ole Miss to Auburn (Oct. 3), Alabama (Oct. 5), Florida (Oct. 10), South Carolina (Oct. 12), Vanderbilt (Oct. 23) and Mississippi State (Oct. 31).
Ole Miss will look to earn its 12th straight berth in the SEC Tournament, which will be held Nov. 5-9 at the Orange Beach Soccer Complex in Orange Beach, Ala. The NCAA Tournament begins Nov. 14 at campus sites and concludes with the Women’s College Cup Dec. 5-7 in Cary, N.C.
