EDINBORO, Pa. (September 2, 2015)  -- The Edinboro University women's soccer team will kick off their 2015 season Thursday night when they travel to take on the Golden Eagles of Clarion University in a PSAC matchup at 7:00 p.m.

Edinboro head coach Gary Kagiavas enters his 20^th season leading the Fighting Scots. They look to build off their 2014 campaign as they finished 10-7-2 and qualified for the PSAC Playoffs for the fifth straight season. The PSAC Coaches Preseason Poll has Edinboro ranked seventh, while Clarion is 14^th in the 17-team league.

Five starters return from last season, including two-time All-PSAC second team selection Jansen Hartmann. The senior midfielder led the Scots in scoring 16 points, tying for the team lead in goals with 6 and second in assists with 4. Another returnee is sophomore midfielder Ashley Mutkus, who was tied with Hartmann with 6 goals last season, and was third on the team in scoring with 13 points.

Alex Brown also had 13 points on 4 goals and a team-high 5 assists. The junior forward started all 19 matches. Reilee DuPratt and Shannon Regan are leaders on defense. DuPratt, a senior, has 42 career starts, including 37 the last two years, while Regan started 17 matches last year. The junior has 28 career starts. 

Clarion also opens up its season on Thursday night. The Golden Eagles posted a 3-11-2 record in 2014, finishing 14^th in the PSAC. When the two teams last met on October 3, 2014, Edinboro walked away with a 2-0 victory with Hartmann scoring one of the two goals.

After Thursday night's match, Edinboro returns home on Saturday to open the season against the Falcons of Notre Dame College at 1:00 p.m. The contest is a key early-season regional matchup. The Fighting Scots concluded the 2014 season with a 1-0 victory over the Falcons, but Notre Dame would go on to win the Mountain East Conference championship and receive an NCAA playoff bid.