May 14, 2008

BEMIDJI, Minn. - Bemidji State University soccer coach Jim Stone has announced the finalized schedule for the 2008 season. This will be the first year of conference play that the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference will feature 14 teams, with the additions of Augustana College, the University of Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State University, Mankato and St. Cloud State University.

The Beavers will play 20 regular season games, which now includes 13 conference games, four more than the previous years.

“These are four teams that could win the conference next year, that’s how good they are,” Stone said. “Bringing in these new teams is exciting but also very challenging to us. This will make us better because it forces us to raise our own game in order to compete with the increased competition of an already very talented league.”

“In terms of scheduling, having more conference games and less non-conference games is wonderful for us because it’s not always easy to schedule non-conference opponents due to our location. This is the perfect set-up for us with regards to scheduling.”

Bemidji State will begin preseason practice Aug. 11, and players are required to report to school on that day.

BSU will have two scrimmages Aug. 19 and Aug. 23 against the University of North Dakota and the annual Alumni game, respectively.

Then, after a brief preseason stint, the Beavers will open the 2008 campaign against Northern Michigan University and UMD Aug. 30-31 in Marquette, Mich.

BSU will host Jamestown College Sept. 2 in the home opener at BSU Soccer Field, and then will have two more home games Sept. 5-6 in the annual BSU Fall Classic. Bemidji State will play Providence College and either Minnesota State University Moorhead or Northwestern.

The Beavers will hit the road for a three-game stint, with another matchup against Jamestown Sept. 11, and the beginning of NSIC play Sept. 20 and 21 against Southwest Minnesota State University and Minnesota State.

The conference home opening weekend will be Sept. 26 and 28 with games against MSU Moorhead and Parent’s Day against the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

The following weekend, Oct. 4-5, BSU will play host to Winona State University and Upper Iowa University, and will travel to Concordia University-St. Paul and St. Cloud University Oct. 11-12.

Next on tap for the Beavers will be a home weekend Oct. 18-19 against Northern State University and the University of Mary, and then they will travel to Duluth for the second meeting of the season against the Bulldogs.

Bemidji State will play its final home game of the season Oct. 26 against the University of Wisconsin-Superior, which will also be Senior Day.

The regular season will be wrapped up with two road games Nov. 1-2 against Wayne State College and Augustana.

After the conclusion of regular season play, the top eight teams will move into the NSIC Tournament, with the first round being hosted by the highest four seeds. The semifinals and championship game will all be played at the home of the highest remaining seed after the first round.

“I feel like we are capable of competing with anyone in our league, so one of our goals is to win the conference,” Stone said. “If this goal is not met, then our next focus becomes qualifying for the conference tournament.

“We’ve put together a competitive schedule, and we have a good mix of games in our non-conference schedule that will best prepare us for conference play.”

Even with the newfound competition, Bemidji State will still be looking to improve on its 9-9-3 finish to the 2007 season, and its 5-3-1 mark in conference play. BSU entered the NSIC Tournament as the No. 5 seed before falling to U-Mary in the opening round, 1-0.

The schedule and results, like always, can be found on the BSU Athletics Web site, and the games and game times are are all subject to change.

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