Savannah, Georgia – The SCAD women's soccer team opens its 2016 season Thursday afternoon when they travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan to face Concordia at 12 p.m. This is the first ever meeting between these two schools.

SCAD went 12-5-2 overall last season, including a 9-1 mark in conference play and are receiving votes in the first coaches' poll of the season. The Bees won a program best ten straight matches at one point and advanced to the semifinals of The Sun Conference tournament.

SCAD returns 12 players from last year's team including six starters. In addition to the returners, the Bees have added 14 new players to this year's squad. Leading the way for the Bees are Gabrielle Garbe, Kelly McKay, and Ande Eich. Garbe and McKay are this year's team captains and have played key roles for the Bees, while Eich played in 17 games last year and made 28 saves. SCAD also returned Meghan Grable, who was an all-conference honorable mention selection last year.

The Cardinals went 10-8-1 overall last year, including a 6-5 mark in conference play. Concordia returns 17 players from last year's squad including ten starters. The Cardinals are led by Julia Palushaj, Heather Emke, and Maria Lulgjuraj. Palushaj led Concordia in goals (17) and points (35), while Emke netted nine goals and dished out one assist. Lulgjuraj started 18 games in goal and made 67 saves while limiting opponents to 1.00 goals per game.

SCAD will wrap up their opening weekend on Saturday, August 20, when they travel to Mount Vernon, Ohio to take on Mount Vernon Nazarene. Mount Vernon Nazarene will provide live broadcast of the game here.

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