Kansas State soccer will play a program-high 18 matches during the 2017 season, including a complete Big 12 schedule for the first time in program history. During the 2017 schedule, the Wildcats will host a program-record eight home matches at the K-State Soccer Complex, including four Big 12 matches.
“We are excited for our fall schedule and the challenges it brings,” said head coach Mike Dibbini. “We open with a tough weekend with Pac 12 opponents, Oregon State and Oregon. These matches along with the remainder of our non-conference matches will prepare us to see where we need to be before our inaugural Big 12 season.”
According to a release from K-State Athletics, K-State will play its annual Purple-White match on Saturday, August 5, at the K-State Soccer Complex. The Wildcats will play two additional exhibition matches, Friday, August 11 at Minnesota and Sunday, August 13 at UMKC.
Kansas State will open its second season of action with a trip to the Pacific Northwest. The Wildcats will face Pac 12 members Oregon State (August 18) and Oregon (August 20) in the season’s opening weekend. It will be the program’s first matches against schools from the Pac 12.
On Thursday, August 24, K-State will face the first of seven opponents the Wildcats played during its inaugural schedule as K-State travels to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to face Oral Roberts. K-State and Oral Roberts played to a 1-1 tie in the first meeting between the schools.
Kansas State will play its first home match of 2017 on Wednesday, August 30 against Omaha. This will be K-State’s first home match in program history in the month of August. The Wildcats defeated the Mavericks last season, 1-0, on Sept. 4.
The Wildcats then return to the road to face Northern Iowa on Sunday, September 3, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Panthers spoiled K-State inaugural home match with a 2-1 win.
K-State will play three of its next four matches at the K-State Soccer Complex. The Wildcats will host Central Arkansas on Friday, September 8, and Creighton on Sunday, September 10. K-State lost at Central Arkansas last season, 1-0, and played to a 1-1 draw at Creighton.
The Wildcats will make a quick road trip to South Dakota on Thursday, September 14. K-State downed the Coyotes, 2-0, in the home finale for K-State in the inaugural season.
K-State returns home to close out its non-conference schedule with a home match against Colorado State on Sunday, September 17. The matchup with the Rams will be the first for K-State against a member of the Mountain West Conference.
Kansas State will play its first match as a Big 12 member on Friday, September 22, at Texas Tech. The Lady Raiders finished the 2016 season with a 9-9-2 overall record and a 2-6-0 mark in league play.
K-State will close out its first weekend of Big 12 competition at TCU on Sunday, September 24. The Horned Frogs were a 2016 NCAA Tournament participant, registering an overall record of 12-7-2 and a 2-5-1 record in the Big 12.
The Wildcats’ first home Big 12 match will be on Friday, September 29, against 2016 national runner-up and defending Big 12 champion West Virginia. The Mountaineers ended the season with a 23-2-2 overall record and an 8-0-0 record in league action. West Virginia outscored its league opponents last season, 15-0.
The first edition of the Sunflower Showdown with Kansas will occur on Friday, October 6, in Lawrence. The Jayhawks tallied a second-place finish in Big 12 play with a 5-1-2 mark and an overall record of 11-6-4. Kansas reached the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, falling 2-0 at eventual national semifinalist, North Carolina.
K-State returns home for its two-match home weekend, as the Wildcats host Baylor on Friday, October 13 and Sunday, October 15, against Texas. The Lady Bears completed the 2016 season with a 12-7-1 record and a third-place finish in the Big 12 with a mark of 4-3-1.
The Wildcats and Longhorns will face each other for the second time, as Texas defeated K-State, 2-0 on October 7, 2016, in Austin. Texas ended the 2016 campaign with a 8-9-1 overall record and a 1-6-1 mark in league play.
Kansas State will make its second trip to the state of Oklahoma in the 2017 season, as the Wildcats will face Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Friday, October 20, and Oklahoma in Norman on Sunday, October 22. The Cowgirls tallied a 9-9-3 overall record and fell in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, while the Sooners were 14-7-2 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to BYU, 2-1.
K-State will end its inaugural Big 12 schedule on Friday, October 27, against Iowa State at the K-State Soccer Complex. The Cyclones registered a 10-8-1 overall record and a 3-4-1 league mark.
