SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana soccer kicks off the 2023 season with a pair of home matches on Morstad Field, as they host No. 13 Central Missouri, Friday, Sept. 1st at 5 p.m. and Rogers State, Sunday, Sept. 3rd at 12 p.m.

Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the app store or Google Play.

The Jennies
The defending MIAA regular season and tournament champion No. 13 Central Missouri comes to Morstad Field tabbed to finish first in their respective conference for the 2023 season. UCM's head coach Lewis Theobald kicks off his 16th season with a career record of 275-41-23. 

The Jennies return nine starters from last year's championship team, including All-American Caroline Cole who recorded eight goals and nine assists, helping UCM's achieve a 19-2-2 overall record last season.

Series History
AU and UCM have faced off a total of eight times since 2014, with the Jennies winning each matchup thus far. 

The Hillcats
Rogers State heads to SIoux Falls picked ninth in the MIAA preseason coaches poll after posting a 5-7-6 record last season. The Hillcats return Vanessa Gonzalez and Sarah Ovalle who combined for two goals and five points while receiving All-MIAA honors.

Head coach Chris Jones added five new freshmen to the Hillcats roster while returning a strong group of upperclassmen. Jones' team includes five international players, stretching across the pond to England and North of the border in Canada. 
 
Series History
History will be made in Sunday's match, as it will be the first contest between these two teams. 

The Vikings
After being picked to finish second in the NSIC, the Vikings will look to lean on a strong group of returning players to start the season hot. Seniors Jillian Barkus and Grace Douglas were picked as players to watch by the NSIC. 

Head coach Brandon Barkus added nine new freshmen to the team, saying "This group of young women will absolutely bring a ton to our program, each of the nine players bring unique and high-level abilities to different parts of our lineup, and each are outstanding people with wonderful family support."

Barkus continued his impressive offseason by naming Terry Kampa as his new full-time assistant coach in July. Kampa spent the last few seasons as the head coach of Presentation College. Barkus stated "Terry is a tremendous teacher and fantastic at developing players for the next level. I believe his skill set will enhance our program to compete at a much-higher level immediately". 

Augustana put together a strong 11-7-2 record last season, closing the last three regular season games with shutouts.