PEORIA, Ill. -- After winning a school-record 16 games against one of the toughest schedules in program history and advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2007 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship, 13th-year head coach Jim DeRose has announced the 2008 Bradley soccer schedule. Visits from perennial West Coast power Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 27) and Missouri Valley Conference rival Creighton (Oct. 18) highlight Bradley's nine-game home schedule at Shea Stadium.
Cal State Fullerton is one of four first-time opponents on the Bradley schedule, while the game versus Creighton will pair the only teams that have claimed the Valley regular-season and tournament championships during each of the last three years. In addition, Bradley will start multi-year agreements against fellow Midwestern private schools Butler, Loyola (Chicago) and Xavier.
“Two of our annual goals in scheduling are to challenge our players against the best possible competition and to expose them to different styles of play from around the country,” said DeRose. “I believe we have met those goals again this season with a slate of teams representing 12 different states from all over the country and our guys will be challenged at every turn.
“I am also excited that we have been able to mix in the start of several multi-year agreements against proven, Midwestern-based, private school programs,” DeRose added. “The agreements with Butler, Loyola and Xavier help to solidify our future schedules with programs of like missions in close proximity."
The Braves will get an early jump on the season by playing a pair of exhibition games: a 3 p.m. home scrimmage Aug. 18 versus Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a road exhibition Aug. 23 at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
Following the two exhibitions, Bradley will open the 2008 regular season on the road for the first time since 1993, and just the fifth time in school history, when it treks south to play in the Memphis Diadora Tournament Aug. 29-31. The Braves will meet tournament host Memphis in the opener on Aug. 29 at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers won 10 games last season, including a 3-2-3 mark in Conference USA play. Memphis will return to Peoria in 2009 to participate in one of Bradley's in-season tournaments. The Braves also will play UAB for the first time in program history Aug. 31 at 3:30 p.m. to wrap up the two-game trip. The Blazers went 7-10-1 a year ago, but have played in four NCAA Tournaments in the last nine years.
Western Illinois will visit for the 2008 home opener Sept. 5, a 7 p.m. clash of nearby rivals at Shea Stadium. The Braves own a 12-7-0 all-time record against the Leathernecks, including a 3-0 win last season in Macomb, ending a streak of nine consecutive one-goal decisions in the series. Two days later, Bradley will host another in-state rival, Northern Illinois, in a 1 p.m. clash at Shea Stadium. Northern Illinois went 7-9-4 last season, notching a 2-1 double overtime victory against #9 Northwestern on Oct. 24, and the Huskies won the last meeting against Bradley, a 1-0 victory in the NIU-adidas/Baymont Inn Invitational in DeKalb, Sept. 10, 2006.
The second of Bradley's three in-season tournaments follows, as the Braves will play in the ProRehab Aces Soccer Classic, hosted by Valley rival Evansville. The Braves will not see the Purple Aces in the two-game tournament, but will face Horizon League member Valparaiso Sept. 12 and first-time opponent North Florida on Sept. 14. Bradley owns a 7-4-0 series advantage versus Valparaiso, but the Crusaders snapped a five-game losing streak against the Braves with a 4-3 win at Morton's McClallen Park to open the 2001 season in the last meeting between the two programs.
Following the two-game tournament at Evansville, the Braves will make their first-ever visit to Xavier on Sept. 19. The game against the Muskateers will start a four-year agreement between the two programs, which will continue with Xavier's participation in one of Bradley's 2009 in-season tournaments.
Bradley will kick off a three-game homestand by hosting a team from the state of California for just the second time in school history. Cal State Fullerton visits Peoria for a 7 p.m. Saturday match Sept. 27. Bradley previously knocked off UC Irvine, 1-0, in the final game of the 2005 Bradley Classic at Shea Stadium.
The following weekend, Bradley will host its four-team Country Inn & Suites Homecoming Classic. Howard will meet MVC member Missouri State in the tournament opener Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. and the Braves will play Southwestern Athletic Conference member Alabama A&M in the 7:30 nightcap. In one previous visit to Shea Stadium, Alabama A&M topped the Braves, 2-0, in the championship game of the 2006 Holiday Inn City Centre Classic. During the tournament's second day Oct. 4, Missouri State will play Alabama A&M at 5 p.m., while Bradley will play Howard in the tournament finale at 7:30.
The Braves will travel to Chicago to play Loyola on Oct. 11, the first contest between the Braves and Ramblers since Bradley's 2-1 overtime win at McClallen Park on Sept. 29, 2001. The game at Loyola also will kick off a two-year, home-and-home series between the in-state rivals.
Missouri Valley Conference play begins four nights later on Oct. 15 when the Braves will host Eastern Illinois at 7 o'clock. Bradley beat the Panthers twice last season, including a 2-0 victory in the semifinals of the State Farm MVC Tournament. Following The Valley opener, the Braves will host Creighton Oct. 18. After Bradley won the 2005 Valley regular-season title outright, the Bluejays knocked off the Braves, 2-0, in the 2005 State Farm MVC Tournament championship game at Shea Stadium. The teams since have shared the last two regular-season league crowns and split the last two tournament championship games, both decided by last-second goals.
Bradley's first road trip within The Valley takes place four days later at Drake on Oct. 22. The Braves are 4-5-1 all-time in Des Moines.
Bradley will play its third Saturday night home game of the season on Sept. 25 against MVC rival Missouri State. The Bears were the only Valley team the Braves did not defeat last season, notching a 1-1 tie in Springfield, Mo. The Braves still are looking for their first home win against Missouri State since moving into Shea Stadium in 2003. Bradley has not beaten the Bears at home since a 2-1 overtime victory Oct. 19, 2001 at McClallen Park.
The final home game of the regular season is scheduled for Oct. 28 versus Horizon League member Butler. The Bulldogs went 9-7-4 last season, including a 4-2-2 mark in league play. The Bulldogs won in their only previous trip to Shea Stadium, 1-0, on Sept. 3, 2005 and own a 2-1-0 all-time mark against the Braves. Bradley will visit Butler in 2009 to complete the two-year, home-and-home agreement.
The regular season will finish up with a pair of road games, starting with the finale of the five-game MVC schedule at Evansville Nov. 1. A week later, the Braves will close out the regular season by making their first-ever visit to Central Arkansas, which is coached by former Bradley assistant Chad Flanders.
For the first time since 1997, Evansville will host the 2008 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, which will be contested Nov. 12, 14 and 16 at McCutchan Stadium. All six teams will qualify for the tournament.
The Braves will return 14 lettermen, including six starters, from the 2007 squad that won a program-record 16 games, claimed a share of their third straight MVC regular-season title, earned their first-ever MVC postseason tournament championship and embarked on a magical run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. As Bradley prepares for the 2008 campaign, the Braves will be trying to become just the second team in Valley history to win at least a share of four straight regular-season league titles (Creighton won five straight from 1992-96).
Bradley plays its home soccer games at Shea Stadium, located on Nebraska Avenue two blocks west of University Street, in Peoria. Single-game tickets for Bradley Soccer are $6 for adults and $3 for youth (K-12). Bradley University faculty, staff and students, as well as active U.S. military members and their immediate families, receive free admission with a valid ID. Season tickets are $50 for adults and $20 for youth. For more ticket information, contact the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office at (309) 677-2625.
