ELON, N.C. – The 2008 Elon Phoenix women’s soccer schedule, announced on Wednesday by head coach Chris Neal, boasts 19 total contests – nine of which will be played at home. The slate will see the Phoenix face off with five teams that participated in the 2007 NCAA Women’s College Cup.

"I'm obviously very excited to kick-off my first season as the head coach at Elon University,” said Neal. “An extremely challenging schedule was created with six of our first seven matches on the road. Included in the non-conference schedule are two ACC opponents, the 2006 Colonial Athletic Association champion, the 2007 Atlantic Sun Conference champion and the 2007 Big South Conference champion. We have many great nonconference opponents. My main goal is for our team to be healthy and playing our best soccer when Southern Conference play begins on September 26th."

The season gets started on Aug. 29 with a 7 p.m. match at North Carolina State. Elon will continue competition against Atlantic Coast Conference foes by visiting Maryland for a 6 p.m. tilt on Aug. 31.

Elon’s first appearance at Rudd Field will come on Sept. 3 as High Point visits for a 7 p.m. match. The Panthers are the first of the five teams the Phoenix will face that participated in the College Cup last year.

The next three games will all take place away from Elon as the Phoenix will visit Old Dominion (Sept. 7) before taking part in the Carolinas Border Classic hosted by USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C. In the Classic, Elon takes on Gardner-Webb at 5 p.m. on Sept. 12 before battling Winthrop at 2 p.m. on Sept. 14.

A date in Rhodes Stadium awaits the Phoenix on its return home. Elon will take on Maryland-Baltimore County at 7 p.m. on Sept. 19 in its lone appearance in Rhodes Stadium. The Phoenix’s second contest against a 2007 College Cup foe will take place on Sept. 21 as Kennesaw State visits Elon.

Southern Conference action will begin when the league’s two newest members meet as Elon visits SoCon newcomer Samford for an 8 p.m. game on Sept. 26 in Birmingham, Ala. Samford also advanced to College Cup play in 2007. The road swing will also take the Phoenix to Chattanooga for a Sept. 28 match.

Elon returns home for its next three games, facing College of Charleston (Oct. 3), The Citadel (Oct. 5) and Appalachian State (Oct. 10) before hitting the road for three games. That road swing will see the Phoenix making appearances at Western Carolina (Oct. 12), Furman (Oct. 17) and Wofford (Oct. 19). Furman competed in the College Cup in 2007.

The regular season concludes with three league home dates. Davidson (Oct. 23), Georgia Southern (Oct. 26) and UNC Greensboro (Oct. 30) round out the Phoenix’s regular season slate. UNCG advanced to the second round of the 2007 College Cup.

The 2008 Southern Conference Championship starts on Nov. 2 with the higher seeds hosting the quarterfinal matches. The semifinals and final will be played in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. on Nov. 7 and Nov. 9.