GUNNISON, Colo. – The seventh season of Western State Colorado University Women's Soccer gets underway on Friday. The Mountaineers travel to Kearney, Nebraska for a pair of matches on a neutral field.
 
Friday's season opener comes against Concordia University, St. Paul at 10 a.m. (MDT). Sunday, the Mountaineers will face Newman University at 1 p.m. (MDT). Both matches will have live stats, with Sunday's match also having live video.
 
The Mountaineers return to the field after making the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Postseason Tournament in back-to-back seasons. Western finished the 2017 campaign with a 5-10-2 overall record and a 4-7-1 record within the conference.
 
Ingrid Alvarez and Andrea Grillo are the top returning goal scorers for Western. Each added two goals last season.
 
Alvarez's two goals were both game winners. The senior midfielder also tied for the team lead in assists with three. With five career assists, Alvarez is just one assist shy from tying for the all-time assist lead in Mountaineer history.
 
Grillo, a junior forward, has recorded five goals in her career, which is tied for the seventh most in program history.
 
Friday will be the first meeting between Concordia and Western. Last season, the Golden Bears finished with a 10-8-1 overall record and made the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament with an 8-6-1 NSIC record.
 
CSP returns their leading scorer, Jordan Rowan-Stafford, from the 2017 campaign. Rowan-Stafford recorded five goals last season, while also leading the team in assists with six.
 
Sunday will also be the first time the Mountaineers have faced Newman. The Jets finished last season with an 11-6-2 overall record. Newman made the Heartland Conference Tournament with an 8-4-2 record.
 
Despite losing their top goal scorer from last season, Newman returns two players that each scored eight goals in 2017. Both Colleen Howland and Grace Linton each scored eight times, while Howland also led the team in assists with 10.
 
Fans unable to attend this weekend's matches in Kearney, Nebraska can follow the action live online (live stats) and on social media (@WSCUMountaineer, @WSCUSoccer).