Truman women’s soccer kicks off season No. 30 this Labor Day weekend, as the Bulldogs welcome Minnesota State and Winona (Minn.) State to Kirksville for a pair of games during a three-day stretch.
 
The purple and white host Minnesota State-Mankato on Friday, Aug. 31 at 4:00 pm before tackling Winona on Sunday, Sept. 2 for a noon kickoff.
 
The Bulldogs, coming off their 17th consecutive season with double-digit wins, will look to get the 2012 season off to a solid start when they host a pair of long-ago rivals thanks to a new regional alignment.

Truman faces both the Mavericks and Warriors for the first time since the 2006 season – the last time the three programs competed in the same region.
 
The MIAA, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the Great American Conference now comprise the Central region, meaning a more north/south region for the Bulldogs as opposed to being the northern outliers in recent years with the Lone Star and Heartland leagues.
 
Truman will be trying to erase a sour ending to the 2011 season that saw the squad drop its final two matches – including an overtime heartbreaker in the MIAA semifinals – and miss the NCAA Div. II tournament for the first time in four seasons.

However, the Bulldogs return seven starters from last season, including each of the top three goal-scorers and all four defenders.
 
Mike Cannon begins his 20th season as the Bulldog head coach and has a career record of 253-90-37.

His detailed bio is available in the full PDF version of the notes on online at TrumanBulldogs.com.

Courtesy Truman State University