TOWSON, Md. – The 2015-16 athletic season officially kicks off Friday evening as the Towson women's soccer team heads to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania for a non-conference matchup with Bucknell at 7 p.m. Just two days later, the Tigers travel to Queens, New York for another non-league game at St. John's University. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
Follow The Action
Both games will have live video available, provided by the host institutions. Links for the video feeds can be found on the women's soccer schedule page as well as the Quick Links section. Sunday night's game against St. John's will have Ralph Bendnarczyk on the call with Mike Watts as an analyst.
 
Social Media
There will be live tweets available throughout the season from the Towson women's soccer official Twitter account, @Towson_WSOC. Fans are also encouraged to follow the Tigers on Facebook (Facebook.com/TowsonWSOC). 
 
Tickets
Entry to Friday night's game at Bucknell's Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium will be free of charge. Sunday's game at the Red Storm's Belson Stadium will be $6 for general admission, $4 for seniors (65+), children under 14 and non-St. John's Students. All seating is general admission on a first come, first served basis.
 
The Series: Bucknell
The Tigers and Bison will lineup for the ninth time Friday night and for the first time since 2013. The all-time series is split 4-4-0, with the teams each winning once in the last two games. The Bison took a 1-0 victory in Towson in 2013, while the Tigers collected a 4-1 win in 2009 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Towson head coach Greg Paynter is 1-1-0 all-time against the Bison, earning that win in his third season at the helm (2009).
 
The Series: St. John's
Sunday will be just the second time Towson has clashed with the Red Storm. St. John's won the lone match 1-0 in Newark, Delaware on Aug. 29, 2008, Paynter's second season. Sunday's game will be the first time Towson takes on the Red Storm in Queens.
 
Ninth Time's a Charm
Head coach Greg Paynter begins his ninth campaign at the helm and coming off one of the best season in program history. After topping William & Mary for the first time in team history, the Tigers qualified for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament for the first time since joining the league in 2002. Towson went 6-9-4 overall last year and posted a 3-4-2 finish in the league.
 
Preseason Plaudits
Senior defender Vasthy Delgado was named to the Preseason All-CAA Team, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Delgado was a third-team All-CAA selection last year while starting all 19 contests, anchoring a defense that logged eight shutouts. A staple on the backline, Delgado has seen time in 51 games of her Tiger career and tallied her first career point, an assist, in the win over William & Mary in 2014.
 
According to the Coaches…
In the 2015 CAA Women's Soccer Predicted Order of Finish, a poll of the league's 10 head coaches, the Tigers garnered 22 points, tying for eighth with Elon. The Huskies of Northeastern were predicted to capture their third league title, followed by Hofstra, James Madison and William & Mary to round out the top four.
 
Plenty of Fresh Faces
The Tiger roster boasts 11 true freshmen this season, while adding a junior transfer to the mix. In a survey of NCAA Division I, Towson was tied for 11^th in the nation in terms of true newcomers, ranking second in the CAA behind 12 true freshmen at James Madison.
 
But Lots of Experience
The Tigers return 15 players who saw time in last season's CAA Tournament game against Hofstra, while bringing back 16 players from last season. Those 16 players combined for over 200 appearances last season, including eight returners who played in all 19 games in 2014.
 
An Out-of-Country Experience
During the University's spring break, the Tigers took a team trip to Costa Rica for 10 days. While in the rain forests of the Central American country, the Tigers learned to surf, player soccer with the locals, met monkeys in the jungle and chipped in with community service, helping with trash removal along a river.
 
Friday-Sunday, Friday-Sunday
Taking much of the guessing game out of the 2015 schedule for the Tigers, Towson will play all of its regular season games on either Friday or Sunday, following the pattern set by the league office. Towson will play 10 non-conference games before beginning a nine-game CAA slate on Sept. 25 at James Madison.

- TowsonTigers.com -