Women's Soccer | 06.18.2019

VERMILLION, S.D. – For the second-straight season, the South Dakota soccer team will host nine games on its home turf of First Bank & Trust Soccer Complex head coach Michael Thomas announced Tuesday.  
 
The Coyotes, coming off their best season in the Division I era, open the 2019 season hosting Idaho State (Aug. 23) and Utah State (Aug. 25). Within the nonconference schedule, South Dakota also hosts Northern Iowa (Sept. 6), Eastern Washington (Sept. 15) and New Mexico State (Sept. 26).
 
Senior Day for the Coyotes will take place against Eastern Washington, a team that has advanced to two of the last three NCAA Tournaments, on Sept. 15.
 
Among nonconference away opponents, the Coyotes visit a pair of defending league champions. First USD travels to Loyola Chicago, who represented the Missouri Valley Conference in the NCAA Tournament, on Aug. 30. The Coyotes also visit UMKC on Sept. 29, the defending Western Athletic Conference champions.
 
Summit League action kicks off on Oct. 4 at North Dakota. The first home league game is with Denver, a Summit League co-champion last season, on Oct. 20. The game is the first of three-straight contests at home as the Coyotes host Omaha (Oct. 24) and the league's other co-champion South Dakota State (Oct. 27). The contest with the Jackrabbits marks the first time since 2016 that the South Dakota Showdown Series presented by South Dakota Corn will be played in Vermillion.
 
The regular season finale is slated for Nov. 3 with Western Illinois.
 
The 2019 Summit League Tournament is slated for Nov. 7-9 in Brookings. The top four teams in the league qualify for the tournament to compete for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.