Fall Schedule Features Marquee Matchups

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Soccer has released its fall schedule for 2016, its 30^th season since the program’s inaugural campaign in 1986.

With 19 games on their slate, the Hogs will play 10 games at home at Razorback Field and nine on the road. Arkansas will face a challenging and diverse range of opponents: Eight matches will be against 2015 NCAA Tournament teams, including national runner-up Duke, and nine games will take place against teams that participated in the 2015 Southeastern Conference Tournament, including league champion Florida.

Both games against the Blue Devils and the Gators will be at home; Duke will visit during the Razorbacks’ home opener on Friday, Aug. 26, and Florida will travel to Fayetteville on Friday, September 16.

In addition to those two marquee matchups, the Razorbacks will begin a nine-game stretch of SEC opponents in late September. Arkansas’ final eight opponents of the season all qualified for the SEC Tournament last season.

“We really like our team. It’s a great mix of returning experience and talented newcomers,” head coach Colby Hale said. “I think our schedule reflects that. The idea in non-conference is to test ourselves and prepare for the toughest conference in college athletics while positioning ourselves for NCAA play while providing our fans a product worthy of their time and money. I think we’ve done that. Our fans are the best in the country and we continue to get better. We have some tricks up our sleeve this year and I can’t wait.”

Arkansas retains 19 players from the previous season, including seniors Cameron Carter (goalkeeper), Erika Miller (defender), Alexandra “Sparky” Fischer (forward), Claire Kelley (midfielder), Katie Moore (forward), Rachel Riggs (midfielder), Lindsey Mayo (midfielder) and junior Jessi Hartzler (defender).

Sophomores Reece Christopherson (midfielder) and Carly Hoke (hybrid defender/midfielder) will seek to build upon their strong freshman campaign after receiving SEC Freshman of the Week and SEC All-Freshman Team accolades, respectively.

The Razorbacks also bring aboard a freshmen class that collectively were ranked the No. 21 signing class in the country by TopDrawerSoccer.com. Hybrid defender/midfielder Daisy de Boer, an international student recruit from Apeldoorn, Netherlands, will also compete with the team this season.

For the 2015 season, Arkansas ranked No. 19 in the nation for average attendance through 10 games with 1,284 fans visiting Razorback Field. For total attendance, Razorback Soccer was the 16^th-most attended women’s soccer program in the country, attracting 12,835 fans last season. That mark was the fifth-best in the SEC.

Season tickets are now on sale for $25. Each season ticket order will come with one 2016 Razorback Soccer scarf.  Single-game tickets can be purchased for $5 at the Razorback Field box office, which opens one hour before kickoff on game days. Current students can be admitted with their UA ID, and children 17 and under are admitted free.

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