Trojans Release Challenging 2016 Schedule

2016 Soccer Schedule

LITTLE ROCK – Another difficult slate of games awaits the Little Rock soccer team next year, as coach Adrian Blewitt announced a 2016 schedule on Thursday that features two opponents who made the NCAA Tournament in 2015, 11 opponents who finished .500 or better last season and seven teams who held a top-100 RPI last year.
 
The non-conference highlights for the Trojans will be road games against Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. The Aggies finished the 2015 campaign with a record of 17-7-2, advancing to the Elite Eight before losing to No. 1 seed Florida State. Texas A&M had an RPI of 16 at season's end and was the No. 9 team in the country in the national coaches poll. Little Rock will travel to College Station, Texas, on Sept. 2.
 
Oklahoma State, meanwhile, was a top-100 RPI team that finished 9-9-2 last year and plays in the Big 12 Conference. The Cowgirls lost in the Big 12 Tournament's first round to eventual Elite 8 team West Virginia last year. Little Rock will travel to Oklahoma State for its last regular-season game on Oct. 25.
 
Other top-100 RPI teams on the schedule include defending Sun Belt champion South Alabama (RPI 17), who reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, Appalachian State (RPI 59), Troy (62), Georgia State (95) and Memphis (97).  South Alabama ended the 2105 season as the No. 25 team in the nation and held an 18-3-2 record.
 
"We have loaded up our schedule again in 2016 as we did in 2015, which helped us break into the top 100 of the RPI rankings," Blewitt said. "With the University of Memphis and Kansas State coming to Little Rock and then away games against top-10 powerhouse Texas A&M and Oklahoma State, we will have our hands full but will be a tougher group ready for conference play.
 
Little Rock ended 2015 with an RPI of 113 but broke into the top 100 nationally earlier in the season. The Trojans went 8-7-5 last year, earning their highest-ever seed in the Sun Belt Tournament.
 
All told, the Trojans will play nine home games at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex and 10 road games outside of Little Rock.
 
The season begins on August 19 when Northwestern State comes to Little Rock, marking the fourth times the teams will have met in the last six years. Little Rock defeated Northwestern State when the teams last played in 2014.
 
After that game, the Trojans take a short trip north to Conway, Ark., to take on Central Arkansas on August 21 for the second consecutive season. Little Rock edged the Bears 1-0 last year at home and hold a 6-1 lead in the lifetime series against their in-state rival.
 
Little Rock will take a trip to Missouri State the next weekend, facing the Bears on August 26 before returning home for a date with Memphis on August 28. Little Rock lost to Missouri State when the teams last played in 2015, and Memphis will be taking on the Trojans for the first time since 2011.

The Trojans will then travel to UAPB on August 30 for a game against the Golden Lions. The teams will be meeting for the seventh consecutive year, with five of the last six meetings going Little Rock's way. Three days later, the Trojans will be off to College Station to take on Texas A&M on September 2. The teams have not met since 1994.
 
Mississippi Valley State will play in Little Rock on September 9, meeting up with the Trojans for the third straight year. And first-time soccer program Kansas State also comes to Little Rock on September 11 to close out the non-conference schedule.
 
Sun Belt play begins on September 16 with a trip to Texas State, and the Trojans will stay on the road for a game at Louisiana on September 18. Little Rock then plays ULM on the road on September 23 before returning home for a game against South Alabama on September 25.
 
"Our Sun Belt schedule will need us to be strong again at home and to pick up points where we can on the road," Blewitt said. "It's a very strong overall slate, but our team is also a year stronger."
 
Arkansas State comes to Little Rock for the teams' annual rivalry game on October 2. Little Rock clinched its trip to the Sun Belt Tournament last year with a 2-1 overtime win against the Red Wolves.
 
Little Rock will make its largest trip of the year the following weekend, heading to Boone, N.C., to battle Appalachian State on October 7 and new Sun Belt member Coastal Carolina on October 9. Three straight home games against Georgia State (October 14), Georgia Southern (October 21) and Troy (October 23) follow that before the regular season ends at Oklahoma State on October 25.
 
The Sun Belt Tournament will be held at a neutral site starting in 2016 at the Foley Sports Complex in Foley, Ala. The tournament is set to take place from November 2-6 with the winner earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.