TEMPE, ARIZ.- Second year head coach Graham Winkworth and the Sun Devil soccer team have announced the schedule for the upcoming 2018 season that includes 12 home matches, and seven matches televised ont he Pac-12 Network.
"It is always one of my favorite days of the year when the final schedule comes out," Winkworth said of the announcement of the schedule. "There are always a few special dates every year that Sun Devil fans will look for. Arizona is obviously the one that always stands out and to host them this year will be very exciting. It is football homecoming weekend and our senior day so we hope that Sun Devil Soccer Stadium will be full and highly vocal."
The Sun Devils will kick off the 2018 season with a pair of exhibition matches on August 12 against New Mexico State at 3:00 and Colorado College at 7 p.m. PT. The final tune up for the Sun Devils is scheduled for Aug. 18 with a meeting against Beijing Normal with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.
"I would like to invite all the fans out to our first exhibition games on August 12," Winkworth said. "We will play two matches that day at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. It will be the perfect opportunity to get your first look at the vast majority of this year's squad as many players will see the field. We will still be missing a couple of players for World Cup duty, but this is a good problem to have."
ASU will begin the regular-season slate with a trip to Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Wahine on August 24, before taking on Montana in a neutral site meeting on Sunday, August 26.
"In the non-conference part of the schedule we have some exciting matches lined up," Winkworth added. "Taking the team to Hawaii will be an incredible experience both for all the staff and players. Yes, it is very much a business trip, but we will use this trip as an opportunity to become close as a squad and make some time for a little fun in the sun too."
The Sun Devils will return to the valley to host the Sun Devil Desert Classic the weekend of August 31, welcoming South Eastern Missouri, Arizona and New Hampshire for a four-match weekend. The Sun Devils will begin their home stand with a 7 p.m. meeting against New Hampshire, before closing the weekend with a 1:30 p.m. meeting with South Eastern Missouri on Sunday, September 1.
Following the back-to-back home matches, ASU will make the short trip to Tucson to take on 2017 NCAA Elite Eight participant Baylor on September 7. The weekend road trip will conclude with a match against South Dakota State in Brooking South Dakota on the 10th.
The non-conference portion of the schedule will conclude the weekend of September 14 when the Sun Devils travel to Flagstaff to take on Northern Arizona, before returning to Tempe to host Weber State in the final non-conference match on September 16.
"There are some very challenging opponents to play before we get into the league," Winkworth said of the challenging non-conference slate. "Baylor will be very tough. Their experience as an elite eight team last year will make for a huge challenge. Other games like South Dakota State will provide the team with tough games on the road. They were conference champions last year in their league."
ASU's Pac-12 schedule will kick off on September 22 with a 1 p.m. PT match against California.
After the trip to Berkley, ASU will return home to host Colorado and Utah on Sept. 27 and 30.
The Sun Devils will hit the road again to start the month of October, heading to Los Angeles to take on UCLA and USC on the 4th and 7th, respectively.
Arizona State will return home for a three-match home stand featuring matches against Stanford (Oct. 13) Washington State (Oct. 18) and Washington (Oct. 21).
The Sun Devils will hit the road for the final time in 2018 with a trip to the Pacific Northwest to take on Oregon and Oregon State on October 25 and 28.
The Sun Devils' 2018 regular season will conclude with a November 2nd match against Arizona.
"I really hope that the local community joins us at our games and, hopefully, we can provide hardworking performances that they can be proud of."
Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.
2018 SUN DEVIL SOCCER SCHEDULE
Sunday, Aug. 12: vs. NM State Exhib. (3 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 12: vs. Colorado College Exhib. (7 p.m.)
Saturday, Aug. 18: vs. Beijing Normal Exhib. (11 a.m.) (Pac-12 Network)
Friday, Aug. 24: at Hawaii (10 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 26: vs. Montana (5:00 p.m.)
Friday, Aug. 31: vs. New Hampshire (7 p.m.)
Sunday, Sept. 2: vs. SEMO (1:30 p.m.)
Friday, Sept. 7: vs. Baylor (4 p.m.) (Pac-12 Arizona)
Monday, Sept. 10: at South Dakota St. (5 p.m.)
Friday, Sept. 14: at NAU (7 p.m.)
Sunday, Sept. 16: vs. Weber St. (1 p.m.)
Saturday, Sept. 22: at California (1 p.m.)
Thursday, Sept. 27: vs. Colorado (2 p.m.)
Sunday, Sept. 30: vs. Utah (1 p.m.)
Thursday, Oct. 4: at UCLA (5 p.m.) (Pac-12 Arizona)
Sunday, Oct. 7: at USC (12 p.m.) (Pac-12 Arizona)
Saturday, Oct. 13: vs. Stanford (7 p.m.)
Thursday, Oct. 18: vs. Washington State (11 a.m.)
Sunday, Oct. 21: vs. Washington (1 p.m.)
Thursday, Oct. 25: at Oregon (5 p.m.) (Pac-12 Arizona)
Sunday, Oct. 28: at Oregon State (11 a.m.) (Pac-12 Network TBD)
Friday, Nov. 2: vs. Arizona (5 p.m.) (Pac-12 Network)
*- Home games in bold