THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – After reaching the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in program history last season, the Cal Lutheran Regals set their sights on next fall as the No. 19 ranked team in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The team released their 2018 schedule Tuesday morning, featuring 17 contests and three non-conference opponents.
"We are very excited about the upcoming season. We have a challenging schedule starting with Augsburg College opening weekend and then quickly get into our SCIAC schedule," said head coach Frank Marino, "We are hoping to build on our success last year and continue to challenge our players."
The Regals get their first taste of competition on August 24 with a home scrimmage against NAIA Westmont College, before rolling into the regular season with two non-conference games at Ausburg University and Hamline University in Minnesota. Both games are the first time Cal Lutheran will face either opponent.
Augsburg clinched the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season title in 2017 and was ranked the sixth-best program in the North region by the NCAA with a 12-4-2 overall record. Hamline finished 8-8-2 overall and 4-6-1 in the MIAC.
Cal Lutheran then returns to southern California to begin conference play September 5, opening with Occidental and Caltech. After four straight away games to officially begin the season, the Regals finally return home for their opener in Rolland Stadium on September 12 against La Verne at 7 p.m.
Six of the seven home conference matches feature the 7 p.m. start, including a rematch of against Whittier who defeated the Regals in overtime of the SCIAC Tournament Semifinals in 2017. The Regals will also rematch against NCAA First Round opponents, UC Santa Cruz, in a non-conference game at home on October 14.
After wrapping up 14 conference matches, the season culminates to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament with the first round set for October 31.
Full Schedule: 2018 Regals Soccer Schedule
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Release by Christy Effendie, Assistant Sports Information Director
