Morris, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's soccer team opens play later today (Sept. 1) on the road at the College of St. Bendict.

Slated for a 4:00 p.m. start, the Cougar women will mark the first official athletic event of the 2010-11 season for Minnesota Morris. Head coach Dan Magner guides the team in his fifth season, with nine upperclassmen set to lead the way. Sixteen total returners were part of a team that finished fourth (10-10-0, 8-5-0) place in the UMAC last season, and will blend with 10 new faces to take aim on a UMAC title.

"We look forward to melding our returning players together with our newcomers,” fifth year head coach Dan Magner said. “More than half of our team are first and second year players so we are still relatively young. We will rely on our experienced juniors and seniors to steady the team and help us find ourselves early in the season. We face a challenging non-conference schedule which should prepare us well for the UMAC."

With a 49-28-2 record at the helm of the Cougars, Magner leads a team that was picked to finish third by the league coaches in the preseason poll.

After a UMAC title in 2003, the Cougars finished second in the league the next three seasons and the 2010 team is primed to take the program back to that level. Leading the charge this season will be sophomore Taylor Meehan, who finished second on the team with 20 points (9G/2A) a year ago. Also coming back is fellow sophomore Katie Kestner who scored 16 points (5G/6A) and was one of just two players to start in all 20 games in 2009.

Emily Jacob returns between the pipes after logging five shutouts in her junior campaign. Jacobs played nearly 1800 minutes in the net last year and stopped over 100 shots for the Cougars.

Minnesota Morris won four of their last six games last season, and will look to carry that momentum into a strong start this season.

In an early season meeting with St. Ben's last year, the Cougars lost a heartbreaker, as the Blazers scored the game's only goal in the 108th minute, stealing a 1-0 victory at Big Cat Stadium. The Blazers went on to a 10-6-1 overall record in 2009 and were picked for a sixth place finish in the MIAC in 2010.

The fall season official gets underway Sept. 1 with Cougar Women's Soccer at St. Ben's at 4:00 p.m.