ANGOLA, Ind. – Head coach Gary Boughton and the Trine University women's soccer team have released their schedule for the 2023 season.
The Thunder finished last season 11-5-3 overall, their second highest win total since joining NCAA Division III and tied for seventh all-time. They finished the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) portion of their schedule 5-1-2 good enough for second in the standings, the best finish in program history. The team reached the championship match of the MIAA Tournament for the second straight year finishing runners-up again.
This season the team hopes to build on the success of the 2022 campaign during their slate of 18 games. Eight of those contests will be played at home, with nine set as true road contests and one as a neutral site game.
During the non-conference portion of their schedule, Trine will face four squads that reached the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship tournament with an additional team ending last season regionally ranked.
Trine opens the season by heading to Wheaton (Ill.) College on Friday, Sept. 1 before staying put on Saturday, Sept. 2 for a second game. The opening contest comes against their hosts from Wheaton with the second featuring the first of last year's tournament participants in the form of Greenville University.
After a second trip, this time to Otterbein College on Tuesday, Sept. 5, the Thunder will open the home portion of the schedule on Friday, Sept. 8 when they host Ohio Wesleyan University. The home opener is the first of the team's rematches from last season, with the Bishops defeating Trine last year 2-0. Ohio Wesleyan finished the season regionally ranked but missed out on a tournament berth.
A quick turnaround puts the Thunder back on Shive Field on Sunday, Sept. 10 when they host Centre College. The second rematch from last season's schedule features arguably the best of the tournament teams that appear on Trine's schedule. Early in 2022, the Colonels handed the Thunder their first loss before they went on to win a game in the NCAA Tournament, the best finish by a team on the this year's schedule.
On Wednesday, Sept. 13, the team finishes off the home stand by hosting Franklin College. The match is the lone home contest for the Thunder that is set to be played on Weaver Field, with the rest scheduled to be contested on Shive Field inside of Zollner Stadium.
The team rounds out the non-conference portion of the season with road games against Wittenberg University, Capital University and Denison University in addition to a home contest against Anderson (Ind.) University. Capital and Denison are the other two teams to reach the national tournament in 2022.
Trine opens the MIAA portion of their schedule with a home game against Saint Mary's College on Tuesday, Sept. 26. They spend the next three games on the road with trips to Hope College, Adrian College and Kalamazoo College. Calvin University, Alma College and Albion College then all come to Angola before the regular season finishes at Olivet College on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
