The 2010 women's soccer season begins Friday and AmericaEast.com will have you covered all season long. Visit daily for game previews, live coverage links, recaps and box scores.
Delaware State at UMBC, 5 p.m. -- Live Stats
The Retrievers kick off their season with a visit from the Hornets, who were just 1-15-2 a year ago.
UMBC downed Delaware State, 4-1, last season and is 3-0-0 all-time in the series, winning those games by a combined 21-1 score. Aly Gazarek, a sophomore this season, tallied her first career score in last year's victory, which proved to be the game winner.
Gazarek is one of nine starters and 13 letterwinners returning for the Retrievers, who will look to improve on last season's 2-14-1 mark. Senior midfielder Sandra Vacarino is the team's top returning scorer after contributing four goals and two assists last year.
No. 12 South Carolina at Boston University, 7 p.m. -- Video (Pay-Per-View) | Audio | Live Stats
The Terriers begin their 2010 season with five straight games at Nickerson Field, three of those against ranked opponents. That stretch starts Friday with No. 12 South Carolina, which reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA College Cup last year.
Boston U., which has won three straight America East titles and made five consecutive NCAA appearances, went 0-2-1 against ranked opponents last season, including a 0-0 tie with No. 7 West Virginia. The Terriers also face No. 2 Stanford, No. 7 Boston College and No. 17 Virginia this season.
The Terriers welcome back five starters and 18 letterwinners from a squad that scored 43 goals and allowed just 15 last season. Junior forward Jessica Luscinski, a first-team All-America East selection last year, is the league’s top returning scorer after tallying six goals and a league-best eight assists in 2009.
Stony Brook at No. 18 Rutgers, 7 p.m. -- Live Stats
The Seawolves, who went 7-10-2 last season, kick off their 2010 campaign Friday in Piscataway, N.J. against the 18th-ranked Scarlet Knights.
Stony Brook earned a 1-1 tie against then No. 23 Rutgers a year ago, its best-ever result against a ranked opponent. After a scoreless first half, the Scarlet Knights took a 1-0 lead 12:14 into the second frame, but SBU evened the score with just 2:46 left in regulation and held on for the tie.
Stony Brook, who was picked second by America East coaches in the preseason poll, returns nine starters and 66.7 percent of its scoring output from a team that ranked third in America East with 1.26 goals per game in 2009. Sophomore midfielder Sa'sha Kershaw leads that group after ranking sixth among league leaders with 14 points as a freshman.