(Texas Tech Press Release) LUBBOCK, Texas — Texas Tech soccer head coach Tom Stone has finalized the 2019 fall schedule. The Red Raiders’ regular season will consist of 18 games, including a tournament at Washington State.
As has been the case for the past six years, Tech will open its fall with an exhibition at Denver. The Red Raiders use the annual trip as an opportunity to prime the squad for the season with a tight match against a steady opponent. Tech has won each of the last six meetings, including last season where they prevailed, 1-0.
After a scrimmage with the back-to-back Summit League Champions, Tech will make a quick turnaround and head west for road matches at San Diego State on Aug. 22 and New Mexico on Aug. 25. Tech scored twice against each opponent last season, downing the Aztecs and Lobos 2-1 and 2-0, respectively. Jade King notched scores in each contest to kick start a strong offensive season for the then-junior.
A two-game road swing will give way to a two-game home stand for the Red Raiders, who will welcome Oral Roberts and North Texas to Lubbock for an interesting opening weekend. Tech’s opening night game against the Golden Eagles will take place on Aug. 30 and will mark the programs’ 11th meeting all-time. The Red Raiders own a 7-3 record against the visitors from Tulsa and have won each of the last four meetings. The Mean Green will visit West Texas on Sept. 1 looking to snap a three-game losing streak against Tech.
Red Raider fans will get their second-straight weekend of Tech soccer in Lubbock when Abilene Christian and Arkansas State visit Sept. 6 and Sept. 8, respectively. ACU is coming off its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance just a handful of years after moving up to the Division I level, making for another good clash between the two West Texas programs.
The clash with the Red Wolves will mark the first-ever competition between the two universities.
Tech will hit the road for three games to round out non-conference play, beginning with a two-game tournament at Washington State, where the Cougars will play host to the Red Raiders as well as Loyola Marymount and UC Irvine.
Tech will play the two California squads while in Pullman. The Red Raiders clipped Loyola Marymount last season in Los Angeles for their first win against the Lions. The Anteaters of Irvine is a squad which has never before appeared on Tech’s schedule.
Whereas last season’s non-con slate wrapped up out west, this year it will come to a close on the east coast. The Red Raiders will make a return trip to South Florida on Sept. 21 after beating the Bulls in Lubbock in 2015. It was a two-overtime affair that saw Stone notch his 100th win at the helm of the Red Raider soccer program.
Big 12 play will be a point of excitement to look forward to for a Tech squad that picked up five conference wins last season – the most since 2014.
The race for points will begin the last weekend of September when the pair of Oklahoma schools travel south to Lubbock. The Cowboys of Oklahoma State will be the first conference foe to step foot on the turf at the John Walker Soccer Complex on Sept. 26, followed by the Sooners of Oklahoma on Sept. 29.
A trip to Ames will await the Red Raiders next as they make the trip to Iowa State for a one-game weekend on Oct. 3. The Cyclones went down as Tech’s first conference win of the season last year, when the Red Raiders downed them 3-0 at home. To Stone, though, the Cyclone team will be much more difficult at their place. Tech owns an 8-5 record all-time when playing in Lubbock, and a 3-6 mark when in Ames for a perfect 11-11 split between the two squads. The Red Raiders, however, have been victorious in each of the last six meetings – at home or away.
What awaits Tech next will be a road swing to Morgantown for a match with West Virginia, which Stone believes is one of the toughest road games to win in the country. Following will be a quick trip home, where the Jayhawks of Kansas will be waiting. Last year saw Cassie Hiatt score a dramatic game-tying goal on a header with 90 seconds remaining, which led to a deflected cross by Jade King finding the back of the net for the overtime winner in Lawrence.
Another one-game weekend will approach Tech next in the form of an Oct. 18 clash with TCU at home. Tech dropped a regular season contest in Fort Worth last year, but came back to end the Horned Frogs’ season on penalties in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship.
What awaits next will be a challenging two-game road trip east, where the Red Raiders will be tested with away matches at Baylor (Oct. 24) and Texas (Oct. 27). Tech dropped the then-17th-ranked Longhorns in the home finale, 1-0, after a dramatic 86th-minute goal by Kirsten Davis. Baylor notched two wins over the Red Raiders, including an overtime victory in the semi-finals of the Big 12 Championship.
Kansas State, in its third season of existence, will round out Tech’s regular season. The Wildcats will head to Lubbock for a Halloween night matchup on Oct. 31.
