The women's soccer schedule features five USA-South opponents in the non-conference portion of its 2008 schedule. The only other scheduled non-conference opponent is regional power Mary Washington (Oct. 10). The Maroons have 12 home dates and six road trips scheduled for the 2008 season.

The Maroons open their first two weekends at home as they host the Roanoke Invitational (Aug. 29-30) and the ODAC/USA-South Challenge on Sept. 5-6. Oneonta State ,Meredith and Johns Hopkins will compete in the season-opening tournament while Greensboro and Methodist will compete during the following weekend. The Maroons defeated Methodist, 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

After a home match against Ferrum on Sept. 9, the Maroons open up ODAC play on the road against Washington & Lee (Sept. 13). After a match vs. Christopher Newport on Sept. 20, the Maroons have six of their next seven contests at home.

The ODAC Tournament will begin Nov. 1 with quarterfinal matches. The semifinals will be Wednesday, Nov. 5 and the finals on Set. Nov. 8 at the top seed remaining.

The Maroons finished with a school-record 18-4-1 record which ended in an ODAC Runner-Up finish and the program's second NCAA-Tournament Appearance. The women scored their first NCAA post-season goal and advanced to the second round for the first time in school history. The team set school-records in goals, points, shots and shots on goal.

Head Coach Phil Benne is ranked not only in the ODAC, but in the NCAA Div.III in career wins with 217 for his career. He is ranked 22nd all-time in Div. III and second among ODAC Coaches all-time. The four-time ODAC Coach of the Year is currently ranked 14th among active NCAA Div. III coaches.

The women lost three starters from last year's squad, including four-year starter and All-ODAC goalkeeper Erin Hanson and three-year starting defender Jess Joyner to graduation. With that said, the record-setting offense returns all of its starters and will be a threat once again in 2008.

All-Region performers and local products Meredith Grunewald (Hidden Valley) and Kristen McCoy (Patrick Henry) along with All-ODAC selection Margaret Houston return this season. They were 1, 2, 3 in scoring last season respectively for the Maroons. Also returning are sophomore Kendahl Groh andsenior Melissa Laughlin. Laughlin had 11 points with three goals and five assists in eight starts last season. Senior Tami Alcalde came off the bench in 20 contests last season to finish fourth in scoring (14pts.) with six goals and two assists.

Top defenders McKenzie Garst (Cave Spring) along with juniors Alida Haslett and Mareen Chenot will be the core of the backfield this season. Haslett, a two-sport athlete (lacrosse), along with Chenot started 21 of 22 games in the backfield last season and will have more of a leadership role this season. Sophomores Jillian Foerster, Jessica Pease and Alexa Mislitski are also back and eager to return. For the first third half of the season Garst was the leading scorer, showing her accuracy and range from the backfield.

Fellow sophomore Jess Welfare (Hidden Valley), who was a First-Team All-ODAC selection, returns as one of the leaders of the midfield. She shows a lot of heart, winning almost any header that comes her way along with 50/50 balls. She was also named D3Kicks All-South Region last season. Also back is Lauren Schwarcz, a sophomore who was a part-time starter last season. She scored three goals and dished out two assists for eight points as a freshman. The Maroons will also welcome back junior midfielder Gina Valles, who was a mainstay in the middle last season.

Top newcomers this season include Paige Gaeng, Sara Farmer and Dorie Gedridge highlight the incoming class this fall. Gaeng will bring a lot to an already talented midfield corps. Her one year of collegiate experience will help a great deal this fall. Farmer had a superb high school and club career and will add another dimension to the high-octane offensive attack that broke nearly every school offensive record last season. Jamie Johnston and Chayna Schiff were teammates from the same travel team and will work well together.