Little Rock To Face Challenging Schedule in 2017

2017 Schedule

LITTLE ROCK – Following the best season in program history in 2016, the Little Rock soccer team will look to improve once more against a tough slate of games in 2017.
 
The Trojans will be facing four teams who finished 2016 in the top 100 of the RPI rankings and two NCAA Tournament teams during their 2017 calendar released on Thursday afternoon. Combined, Little Rock's 2017 opponents had a .518 winning percentage in 2017.
 
"Our 2017 schedule will challenge our squad in many ways this season," said fifth-year Little Rock coach Adrian Blewitt. "If we are going to compete for a Sun Belt Championship this year we will have to dominate our home games, be tactically astute away from home and develop our mentality to be more competitive than we ever have. All of the ingredients are there for a terrific season."
 
Little Rock will play 10 home games in 2017, up from nine in 2016.

Blewitt's Trojans have reached new heights with each successive season. Little Rock earned its highest-ever seed in the Sun Belt Tournament last season when it finished third in the league standings. Little Rock reached the No. 82 spot in the national RPI rankings during the year – its best ever – and broke the school record for wins (12) and Sun Belt wins (6) in 2016.
 
The team's 2017 schedule will open on August 12 with an exhibition game at Northwestern State. But the regular season will start in earnest on August 18 with a local rivalry game against Central Arkansas at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex at 7 p.m. The Bears finished with a 15-4-1 record last year, winning the Southland Conference regular season before falling in the league tournament. UCA finished the 2016 campaign with the nation's No. 93 RPI, one spot behind Little Rock's No. 92 RPI to close the year.
 
Little Rock will then hit the road for two games against top-100 RPI foes, taking on Memphis on August 20 and Texas on August 25. The Tigers reached the NCAA Tournament in 2016 and had the No. 30 RPI in the nation at season's end. Texas was 8-9-1 overall but finished with a top-100 RPI as well.
 
"We have a very difficult non-conference schedule which will allow us to develop tactically," Blewitt said. "Playing a top-30 program like Memphis and dealing with the size and athleticism of Texas are challenges for any team in the country."
 
The Trojans will play their next two games at home on August 27 and September 2 against Missouri State and Sam Houston State. Little Rock will be seeking its second straight win against the Bears and will be playing the Bearkats for the first time in program history. That contest will also be Little Rock's Senior Night.
 
Little Rock will follow that with a weekend road trip into Kentucky and Tennessee, facing Ohio Valley Conference Champion Murray State on September 8 and Austin Peay on September 10. The Trojans will then return home to face UAPB on September 12 in their only midweek contest of the season.
 
"The scheduling of UCA and Murray State – both conference champions – will test us and hopefully build our confidence," Blewitt said.
 
Sun Belt conference play begins on September 17 against Louisiana. The Trojans then travel to Arkansas State for their annual rivalry game on September 22 and return home for their final non-conference game against Texas-Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) on September 24.
 
The Sun Belt schedule then continues with a weekend homestand against ULM and Coastal Carolina on September 29 and October 1, a road trip to face Troy and South Alabama on October 6 and October 8 and one more home weekend on October 13 and October 15 against Appalachian State and Texas State.
 
The regular season concludes on the weekend of October 20 and 22 with a trip to Georgia Southern and Georgia State.

For the second straight year, the Sun Belt Tournament will be held in Foley, Alabama. The top eight teams in the league will advance to the quarterfinals on November 1, the semifinals will be on November 3 and the championship game will be played on November 5. Little Rock will be seeking a spot in the league tournament for the fifth straight season.