2013 Schedule | @GWWomensSoccer | Like GW Women’s Soccer on Facebook

WASHINGTON – George Washington women’s soccer will host three NCAA Tournament qualifiers as part of an 18-match schedule for the 2013 season, second year Head Coach Sarah Barnes announced.

The Colonials will host eight games at the GW Soccer Field on the Mount Vernon Campus, including the second annual D.C. Invitational, and will also travel to local Atlantic 10 newcomer George Mason for the first time as league foes.

“This year’s schedule includes a number of competitive opponents with NCAA Tournament experience, which provides a great challenge for the 2013 season,” Coach Barnes said.

GW lost four players to graduation this past spring and is set to return 21 letterwinners and seven starters from 2012. The squad looks to improve upon a 5-12-1 record and 1-8-0 A-10 mark from Coach Barnes’ first at the helm of the program. The Buff and Blue return top scorer and A-10 All-Rookie Team selection Kristi Abbate, who paced GW with three goals and two assists for a team-leading eight points. With the addition of 11 newcomers to the roster, the Colonials will look to earn a spot in the eight-team A-10 Championship for the first time since 2006.

GW returns to action with a pair of exhibition matches, as it hosts VMI for a 9:30 a.m. contest on Sunday, Aug. 11 in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Colonials then travel to Delaware on Friday, Aug. 16 for an exhibition game at 7 p.m.

The Colonials open the season on the road at local foe American on Friday, Aug. 23 at 4 p.m., marking the fourth straight year GW has kicked off the season against a fellow District team. GW opens its home slate by welcoming VCU, St. Francis (Pa.) and Georgetown for the D.C. Invitational. The squad will match up with the Hoyas – who finished the 2013 season as the No. 17 team in the country after falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament – on Friday, Aug. 30 at 4 p.m., before facing St. Francis (Pa.) on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 1 p.m.

GW begins a four-match road swing on Friday, Sept. 6 in Norfolk, Va., with a 7 p.m. game at Old Dominion, before heading to Greenville, N.C., to face East Carolina for the first time on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 2 p.m. The Colonials then travel to Williamsburg, Va., on Thursday, Sept. 12 where they will face William & Mary at 7 p.m. for the first time since 1999. GW takes a one-week break before heading to Emmitsburg, Md., for a 4 p.m. match against Mount St. Mary’s on Friday, Sept. 20.

The Colonials return home to host 2012 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champion and NCAA Tournament qualifier Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 4 p.m., before heading down the road to local rival Howard on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. for their non-conference finale.

“We face several conference opponents this season that we did not match up with last year,” said Coach Barnes. “We’re looking forward to the new competition and we’re ready to get to work.”

GW kicks off Atlantic 10 action on the road against Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I., on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. The Colonials welcome reigning league champion and NCAA Tournament challenger La Salle on Friday, Oct. 11 at 3 p.m., followed by Saint Joseph’s on Sunday, Oct. 13 with a 1 p.m. start. They then travel to face a pair of teams for the first time in two years in St. Bonaventure on Friday, Oct. 18 at 3 p.m. in St. Bonaventure, N.Y., and Duquesne on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 1 p.m., in Pittsburgh, Pa. GW wraps road action on Friday, Oct. 25 with a 7 p.m. match against the A-10’s newest member, George Mason, in nearby Fairfax, Va.

The Colonials close regular-season action with three straight home contests, beginning with A-10 Championship runner-up VCU on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 3 p.m. GW welcomes non-conference opponent Delaware State on Friday, Nov. 1 for a 1 p.m. game before hosting Richmond for its home-finale and Senior Day match on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 3 p.m. Seniors Claire Haft, Melanie Keer, Alex Neal, Nicole Ulrick and Jane Wallis will be honored prior to the match.

The Atlantic 10 Championship will be held at VCU’s Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond, Va., from Nov. 7-10. The newly expanded conference championship has implemented an eight-team, three-day tournament format.