PEORIA, Ill. - For the second year in a row, Bradley Soccer will prepare for its upcoming season by bringing a national power to Shea Stadium for the annual Danny Dahlquist Memorial Game, according to the release of the team's 2015 schedule Thursday.
After hosting 2013 national champion Notre Dame in the Danny Dahlquist Memorial Game last season, Bradley will welcome former Missouri Valley Conference rival and perennial national power Creighton to Shea Stadium for the 2015 edition of the exhibition Aug. 18. The Bluejays capped a 16-3-3 record in 2014 by reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship, where they fell in penalty kicks to UMBC to come up just one win shy of their sixth College Cup appearance.
"With 16 of 31 players on our roster being true or redshirt freshmen, we felt it was necessary to expose them to the highest levels of Division I soccer as soon as possible," said Bradley head coach Jim DeRose. "This is the first time during my tenure we have scheduled three exhibitions. All of these are within the first 10 days of pre-season against Marquette, Creighton and Akron, so we should know pretty quickly where we stand and what we need to work on.
"The remainder of the schedule begins and continues multiple-year series with some opponents we have not traditionally played, both geographically and at the conference level, and we are very excited about that," DeRose added.
Bradley developed a healthy rivalry against the Bluejays before Creighton departed for the Big East Conference in 2013. The teams combined to win 15 of The Valley's 20 regular-season and postseason tournament titles from 2003-12. Despite the competitive nature of the rivalry, the two programs also have teamed up numerous times in charitable exhibitions in support of pediatric cancer research. Previous Danny Dahlquist Memorial Game opponents have included Notre Dame (2009, 2014), Louisville (2010), Michigan State (2011), Kentucky (2012) and Northwestern (2013).
The Danny Dahlquist Game exhibition versus Creighton will be the middle game in Bradley's 3-game, preseason exhibition schedule, which will begin Aug. 15 against another Big East Conference member, Marquette, and will conclude Aug. 22 at national power Akron.
Following the Aug. 28 season-opener at Illinois-Chicago, Bradley will kick off its 10-game home schedule Aug. 30 by welcoming Western Athletic Conference member Houston Baptist to Shea Stadium. The Braves will continue the first of their two 3-game homestands with a pair of home games Labor Day weekend by hosting DePaul Sept. 4 and Milwaukee Sept. 6.
Bradley will sandwich a 3-game road swing against a trio of squads that combined for a 33-17-7 (.640) record last season in between its two 3-game home stands by visiting a pair of up-and-coming programs around a return engagement against 2014 NCAA Tournament participant UNLV. Bradley will call on Utah Valley Sept. 11 before facing the Rebels Sept. 13 in Orem, Utah. The Braves will finish the road swing Sept. 19 at Omaha. In its first season as a NCAA Division I program, Utah Valley posted a 9-7-2 overall record last season and the WAC program averaged 1,365 fans per home game, including three crowds in excess of 2,000.
Bradley will kick off its second 3-game home stand by hosting The Hotels at Grand Prairie Soccer Series Sept. 25 versus Loyola Chicago and Sept. 27 against Air Force. The Missouri Valley Conference opener versus Loyola will be a featured attraction during Bradley University's Homecoming weekend. West Coast Conference member Gonzaga will be the final opponent in the 3-game home stand and the Oct. 2 visit from the Bulldogs will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Bradley's final two non-conference games will be Oct. 5 at Western Illinois and at home Oct. 13 versus Western Michigan. The Braves will close out their home schedule by hosting both of last year's Valley champions, Oct. 17 against regular-season champ Missouri State and Oct. 31 versus postseason tournament winner SIU Edwardsville.
Bradley will visit Drake Nov. 7 for the regular season finale and the 2015 MVC Men's Soccer Championship will be played outside of Peoria for just the second time in the last six years when SIUE hosts the 6-team event Nov. 11, 13, 15 at Ralph Korte Stadium.
Bradley Soccer Ticket Information
Bradley Soccer 2015 season tickets are currently on sale through the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office in Renaissance Coliseum and the complete 10-game package is available for just $40 for adults and $20 for children (ages 14 and under). For the third consecutive year, youth tickets for Bradley Soccer will be FREE with membership in the Little Braves Club. Single-game ticket prices, including the Danny Dahlquist Game versus Creighton, will be $6 for adults, $3 for children ages 14 and under and FREE for Bradley University students, faculty and staff, as well as active members of the military and their immediate families, all with valid identification.
