Women's soccer announces 2020 slate

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Simpson women's soccer head coach and reigning American Rivers Conference Coach of the Year, Jeremy Reinert, has released the 2020 schedule that features nine contests inside Buxton Stadium.

"We have put together a really balanced schedule this year," said Reinert. "It will test us early and also allow us to explore the depth of our team. After graduating a strong class, we are relying on the leadership of our returning players to show our underclassmen what it takes to compete for championships in this league."

After reaching the A-R-C Tournament last fall for the first time since 2013, the Storm look to make a deeper run in postseason play this year on the heels of posting a 10-4-5 record in 2019 for the most wins since 2011. The defense shined for Simpson by shutting out 11 opponents and only allowed one team to score in the first eight contests.

The Storm are set to bring back three all-conference performers from last year's squad including all-conference goalkeeper, Rachel Neumann. Neumann led the league with a 0.61 goals allowed clip and a 0.89 save percentage. Brooklin Froehlich and Megan Roberts were each honorable mention nods as all three were in their first seasons with the squad.

With the season and home opener on Sept. 1 against Westminster, Simpson hits the road for its next four matches, before a string of five-straight home events. Of the 10 nonconference matches for the Storm, the key showdown is on Sept. 29 against Monmouth. The Scots reached the opening round of the 2019 NCAA National Tournament and also serves as a rematch after Simpson fell 2-1 to Monmouth to hand the Storm their first loss a year ago.

The A-R-C opener is on Sept. 26 at home against Dubuque just before league play starts in full at the beginning of October with a home battle against Loras on Oct. 2, which sets the Storm up for a road match at Central on Oct. 7. Simpson then competes against Coe, Luther and Buena Vista before traveling to Wartburg.

The Knights reached the NCAA Tournament after winning the A-R-C Tournament a year ago and when the two teams previously met on Sept. 28, 2019, Jessica Payne and Lizzie Arnburg both scored goals to help the Storm draw 2-2 with Wartburg. The tie broke a 10-game losing skid to the Knights and was the first time in four matches Simpson tallied a goal in the series.

The Storm close out the regular season with a road trip to Nebraska Wesleyan on Oct. 27. Simpson needed a victory over the Prairie Wolves in the season finale to reach the A-R-C Tournament and achieved the triumph after Baileigh Nagy connected on a 49th-minute goal to lift the Storm over Nebraska Wesleyan, 1-0.

"October soccer is going to be full of competition again," said Reinert. "Playing in such a competitive conference presents new challenges as no points come easy. Returning and incoming players, along with the coaching staff, all need to take strides over the next few months to reach our goal of competing for a title in 2020."