The Point Loma women’s soccer team heads into the season with two away matches. The first will be against Cal State Dominguez Hills, Thursday, Sept. 3, and the second against UC San Diego, Saturday, Sept. 5.
Both road matches this week will be available via live stats. Stats for both matches can be accessed at plnusealions.com/gameday. 
The PLNU women’s soccer team returns 16 student-athletes and added 11 newcomers this summer to bring the Sea Lions’ roster total to 27. Last season, the Sea Lions finished 11-0-1 in the PacWest to secure the first-ever PacWest Championship for any Point Loma team. Earlier this summer, four returners were named to the PacWest preseason team, including junior defender Dottie Rhoten, sophomore midfielder Sami Swanson, senior forward Shelby Murphy and junior goalkeeper Ariel Oriarte. Oriarte was also the 2014 PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year and Swanson was voted the Freshman of the Year. The Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros return 24 student-athletes from a team that went 2-15-1 (2-9-0 CCAA) in 2014.  This will also be the season opener for the Toros. This is the third straight season these two teams have met. CSUDH won in 2013 before PLNU got revenge with a 2-0 win in its season opener last year. The Toros were picked to finish 13th in the CCAA preseason poll.
The UCSD Tritons CCAA team will return 20 players, including All-CCAA selections Kelcie Brodsky and Jordyn McNutt, to their 2015 roster. UCSD went 9-6-3 last season and 6-3-2 in the CCAA. UCSD will open its season on Thursday against PacWest opponent Concordia (CA). UCSD was picked to finish seventh in the 13-team CCAA.
 
Next week
PLNU will host a pair of matches next week, including its home-opener against CCAA-favorite, Cal State LA, on Tuesday, Sept. 8. The Sea Lions will then welcome in Sonoma State on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 2 p.m.