Fort Hays State women's soccer takes the pitch at FHSU Soccer Stadium on Friday (Sept. 4) evening in its regular season opener against Southwest Minnesota State at 6 pm. FHSU hosts two games on the weekend as they also welcome Minot State on Sunday at 11 am.
 
Live stats will be available for both matches at the link provided above.
 
The Tigers are coming off a 13-5-2 overall record in 2014 and a third-place finish in the MIAA. Southwest Minnesota State serves as a season-opener rematch from last year, where the Tigers took the meeting by a score of 4-1 in Marshall, Minn. The Mustangs were ranked No. 21 at the time.
 
Southwest Minnesota State finished last year at 10-8-1 overall, while Minot State was 10-7-2 overall.
 
A strong early regional schedule could be key to the Tigers' opportunity at an NCAA Tournament berth later in the year, should they navigate MIAA play successfully. FHSU was just on the outside looking in last year, falling just short of grabbing an at-large berth. FHSU faces four of the top six programs from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in 2014 to open the year. FHSU plays at Winona State and Upper Iowa next week.
 
The Tigers have six of their 2014 All-MIAA selections back this year, which includes Hannah Smith, Kristen Thompson, Kelsey Steffens, Gabrielle Makatura, Kylee Loneker, and Mallory Diederich. The FHSU defense produced 11 shutouts in 2014.