The Rams host in-state rival Colorado on Aug. 21 in their season opener, which will count toward the Colorado Cup competition between the six Division I women’s programs in the state (Air Force, Colorado, CSU, UNC, Colorado College and Denver).
On Sunday, Aug. 23, the Colorado Cup continues for CSU when it travels to Boulder to take on DU at a neutral field.
The Rams then hit the road for their first out-of-state road trip of the year for a night game with Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.
CSU then heads to Moraga, California to face UC Irvine and Saint Mary’s on Sept. 4 and 6, respectively.
The Rams will then have to be well prepared for their second home game of the year on Sept. 11 against Northwestern University out of the formidable Big 10 Conference. Last season, Big 10 foe Iowa shut the Rams out 4-0 when the Hawkeyes came to Fort Collins.
Non-conference play ends for the Rams after another Colorado Cup matchup Sept. 13 with Northern Colorado and then a two-game road trip to Nebraska featuring bouts with Nebraska-Omaha and Creighton Sept. 18 and 20, respectively.
Mountain West play starts at home for the Rams with games against Fresno State and San Jose State Sept. 25 and 27. CSU then heads to Colorado Springs for two against Colorado College and Air Force before traveling to California again to play last year’s conference champion San Diego State.
An Oct. 11 home game with New Mexico awaits the Rams upon their return, and then they make their last road trip of the season for contests against Nevada and UNLV.
The regular season concludes with a three-game home stand against Utah State Oct. 23, Boise State Oct. 25 and Border War rival Wyoming Oct. 30.
The top six MW teams will head to San Diego State for the conference tournament starting Nov. 3. Last season, the Rams finished 4-15 overall and 2-9 in conference play, just one spot from the bottom, beating out only Nevada. Head coach Bill Hempen hopes a huge recruiting class will finally help CSU’s young program get off the ground this fall, though.
Collegian Sports Reporter Sam Lounsberry can be reached at sports@collegian.com and on Twitter @samlounz.