The 2012 Tulsa women’s soccer schedule features 11 home contests at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium, nine teams that finished the 2011 season with double-digit wins and four NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, announced Head Coach Kyle Cussen.

 

“I think we put together a good non-conference schedule and a strong home schedule,” Cussen said.  “At home, we’re playing 2010 NCAA Champion Notre Dame and the top-three finishers in Conference USA a year ago – Memphis, Colorado College and SMU.  Our goal is to finish among the top-50 in the RPI, which this schedule gives us the opportunity to do.  It also gives us an avenue for reaching our ultimate goal of advancing to the NCAA Tournament.”

 

TU will kick off the 2012 season with five-straight home matches, including the season opener against Weber State on Aug. 17^th, Notre Dame on Aug. 24^th and Nicholls State on Aug. 26^th.  The Wildcats and Colonels each recorded six wins a year ago, while the Fighting Irish earned 10 victories and advanced to the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.  This will be the first meeting for Tulsa with both WSU and NSU, while UND has won both previous match ups.

 

The Golden Hurricane will then host the Tulsa Invitational, including games against Missouri State on Aug. 31^st and Northwestern State on Sept. 2^nd.  The Bears captured 12 wins and finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference last season, while the Demons picked up eight victories a year ago.  TU has a 7-5-2 advantage in the all-time series with MSU, while NSU has won three of the five meetings with the Hurricane.

 

Tulsa will make its first road trip of the season to Kansas City, Mo., where TU will take on Florida Gulf Coast (Sept. 7) and UMKC (Sept. 9) in the UMKC Invitational.  The Eagles registered 14 wins, won the Atlantic Sun Tournament and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.  This will be the first meeting for the Hurricane with both Florida Gulf Coast and the Kangaroos.

 

TU will close out the non-conference slate against cross-town rival Oral Roberts on Sept. 14^th in the friendly confines of the Hurricane Stadium.  The Golden Eagles picked up seven wins last season, but Tulsa claimed a 1-0 win in the season opener to take a 14-4-4 lead in the series.

 

The Hurricane will make the trip to Houston, Texas, to open up Conference USA action against Rice and Houston on Sept. 21^st and Sept. 23^rd, respectively.   The Owls own a 7-4 lead in the series with TU, while the series against the Cougars is tied, 2-2-2.

 

Colorado College will come to town on Sept. 28^th, and UTEP will make the trip on Sept. 30^th.  The Tigers earned 10 wins and finished second in the league last season, while the Miners had 11 victories.  Colorado College has won 11 of the 13 meetings with Tulsa, while the series with UTEP is tied, 7-7-2.

 

The Hurricane starts a four-game road swing at UCF (Oct. 5), followed by Southern Miss (Oct. 7), Marshall (Oct. 12) and East Carolina (Oct. 14).  The Knights captured 13 wins, finished fourth in C-USA and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament last season, while East Carolina picked up 11 victories.  UCF has a 6-0-1 lead in the series with TU and ECU has won five of the six previous meetings with the Hurricane, but Tulsa has a 5-0-1 advantage over USM and a 4-2 lead over Marshall. 

 

Tulsa will conclude the 2012 regular season with a three-game home stand, including Memphis (Oct. 19), UAB (Oct. 21) and SMU (Oct. 26).  The Tigers amassed 21 wins, won both the regular season and tournament C-USA titles, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. Memphis has a 6-1-1 lead in the series with Tulsa, but the Hurricane took the then fourth-ranked Tigers to overtime in the quarterfinals of the C-USA Championship before falling, 2-1.

 

The Blazers posted seven wins, while the Mustangs recorded 11 victories.  TU has a 4-2-1 advantage in the series with UAB, while SMU has won 23 of the 28 meetings with Tulsa.

 

UTEP will host the 2012 Conference USA Championship, Oct. 31-Nov. 4, in El Paso, Texas.