ALAMOSA, Colo. – The Adams State Women's Soccer team will begin their season on the road in Boise, Idaho as they will take on University of Minnesota-Crookston and Northwest Nazarene University on Thursday, Aug. 31, and Saturday, Sept. 1.

After finishing the 2017 season with a 3-8-4 record, the Grizzlies return a relatively young team with only three seniors, while the remainder of the team are underclassmen. Janine Hurst will make her head coaching debut this Thursday against the Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles. Hurst was an assistant coach for the Grizzlies since 2013 mainly working with the Adams State Goalkeepers.

The Grizzlies will be led by returning seniors, Kendall Weld and Natalie Wheelock, who played in 14 of the Grizzlies 15 games in the 2017 season. Weld led the team in goals and assists, while Wheelock anchored an Adams State defense that allowed 1.93 goals per game.

The Grizzlies also return a number of young and experienced players. Lourdes Padilla, Mollee Heeney, and Carly Kading all eclipsed 1000 minutes during the 2017 season, while Redshirt-Sophomore Peyton Billingham started all 15 games for the Grizzlies.

Scouting the Golden Eagles
The Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles struggled during the 2017 season with a record of 0-14-3. The Golden Eagles will look for some new young talent and experienced veterans to turn it around. Leading the Golden Eagles offensively will be Jessica Withrow. Withrow, a sophomore midfielder, led the Golden Eagles with four points and two goals. Jessica Scott and Vanessa Shelton will also look to add some offensive firepower. The Grizzlies and Golden Eagles will matchup this Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in Boise, Idaho.

Scouting the Nighthawks
The Northern Nazarene Nighthawks finished their 2017 campaign with a respectable 11-7 record which placed them in third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Nighthawks will feature five returning starters from last season. The Nighthawks will be led by four All-GNAC Second team members from the 2017 season. The Grizzlies will look to contain the Nighthawks high-powered offense which averaged 1.50 goals per game last season. Madi Taylor and Rikki Young alone combined for 13 goals and 32 points for the Nighthawks. The Grizzlies will play the Nighthawks this Saturday at 3 p.m. in Boise, Idaho.