Tulsa Men’s Soccer to Face Defending National Champion Stanford and Four 2016 NCAA Tournament Teams During 2017 Campaign
5/30/2017 3:06:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Link to 2017 Schedule
Back-to-back NCAA Champion Stanford, as well as 2016 NCAA Tournament teams Creighton, Denver and USF highlight the 2017 Tulsa men's soccer schedule, as announced today by Head Coach Tom McIntosh. The Golden Hurricane schedule features three teams that finished the season ranked in the top-15 in the final NSCAA poll and seven teams that posted double-digit wins a year ago.
"The same thing applies every year, we have to play a good non-conference schedule to prepare for league play and give ourselves the best opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament," McIntosh said. "This schedule gives us the opportunity to do just that. We play Stanford, which is the back-to-back National Champion, Denver who was in the top five all year last season and played in the College Cup, Creighton and Saint Louis who are traditionally very good teams, and Wisconsin who was one of the best teams in the country last year. It is a great schedule as all the games are big games for us in non-conference."
"Then we begin conference play in The American and we know how tight that is," McIntosh added. "This season The American realistically could put four or five teams in the NCAA Tournament and will be one of the top four leagues in the country. I think our schedule also provides our fans with some great home contests, which include Wisconsin, SMU, USF, Denver and Saint Louis, to name a few."
TU finished the 2016 campaign with a 10-5-5 overall mark and a 4-2-1 record in American Athletic Conference play, winning The American tournament title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Tulsa tallied 32 goals and six clean sheets, had four players named to the all-conference teams, five to the all-tournament team and two to the all-rookie team.
The Golden Hurricane will begin the 2017 season in the friendly confines of the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium on Friday, August 25 against Wisconsin. The Badgers picked up 11 wins last season, and have a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series with Tulsa, including a 3-1 win in the last meeting during the 2007 campaign.
TU will take to the road for a three-game stretch, taking on Missouri State (Sept. 1), Santa Clara (Sept. 7) and Stanford (Sept. 9). The Cardinal won their second-straight National Championship, finished the season ranked No. 1 in the final NSCAA poll, captured the PAC-12 Championship and recorded 15 wins last season. The Hurricane earned wins over Missouri State and Santa Clara a year ago, while the Bears tallied nine wins and the Broncos earned five victories on the season.
Brown comes to town for just the third meeting with Tulsa on the soccer pitch on Sept. 15. The Bears, which have won both previous contests with TU, including a 3-0 win in 2006, registered eight wins a year ago.
The Hurricane will take on Creighton (Sept. 19) in Omaha, Neb., this season. The Bluejays had 13 wins and advanced to the NCAA Third Round, including a 3-0 win over Tulsa in the NCAA First Round. It was TU, however, that recorded a 2-1 win over CU in the regular season.
Tulsa will begin American Athletic Conference play against SMU (Sept. 24) at home, before making the trek to UConn (Sept. 29). The Huskies earned 11 wins last year and finished third in The American, while the Mustangs had just six wins a year ago. TU earned shutout wins over both teams last season, while scoring five combined goals in the two contests.
USF comes to town on Oct. 7, followed by Denver on Oct. 10. The Bulls earned The American regular season championship and tied the Hurricane, 1-1, in the tournament championship, but failed to claim the title on penalty kicks (4-2). USF tallied 10 wins and played in the NCAA First Round.
The Summit League Champion Denver Pioneers amassed 20 wins and advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 College Cup. DU has a 2-1 lead in the all-time series with TU, but it was the Hurricane that captured a 4-2 win in the last meeting during the 2009 season.
Tulsa travels to UCF (Oct. 15), before returning home for a three-game stretch with Temple (Oct. 21), Saint Louis (Oct. 24) and Cincinnati (Oct. 28). Of the four teams, the Owls had 10 victories a year ago, followed by nine wins for the Bearcats, seven for the Billikens and five for the Knights. The Hurricane picked up wins over UCF (3-2) and Cincinnati (3-1) last year, while tying Temple (1-1) and Saint Louis (1-1).
TU closes out the regular season at Memphis (Nov. 4), which had eight wins last season. Tulsa has a 6-4-3 advantage in the series with the Tigers, including a 2-0 win last year.
The American Athletic Conference Championship will be hosted by the team that earns the No. 1 seed. Semifinals will be played on Friday, Nov. 10, while the Championship is set for Sunday, Nov. 12.
Monday, September 02
Sunday, September 01
Wednesday, August 28
Saturday, September 23