Penn State women’s soccer released its 2019 regular season schedule Friday.

The Nittany Lions, who finished the 2018 season ranked No. 14 nationally, will face several highly-ranked opponents including West Virginia, Stanford, and Virginia.

Head coach Erica Dambach’s squad finished the 2018 season with an 18-6-1 record, falling to Minnesota on penalty kicks in the Big Ten tournament and finishing its NCAA tournament run with a 1-0 loss to eventual champion Florida State.

Penn State will kick off its season at home against Stanford in what is sure to be a difficult opening match for the Nittany Lions. The Cardinal won their fourth consecutive Pac-12 championship last season and were ranked No. 2 at season’s end. The Nittany Lions will then head west to take on Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount University before returning home to face several tough opponents, including, West Virginia and Virginia. They begin conference play against Michigan on September 19. They’ll host 10 of their 19 total matches at Jeffrey Field.

Despite losing stalwart team leaders like co-captains Emily Ogle and Maddie Nolf to graduation and the NWSL, Dambach retains a strong core of players that will aim for a deep run in this year’s College Cup and a Big Ten title. The attacking trio of Kristin Schnurr, Kerry Abello, and Frankie Tagliaferri combined for a total of 22 goals this season, and they’ll be expected to provide most of the team’s offense throughout the year.

Co-captains Kaleigh Riehl, Ellie Jean, and goalkeeper Amanda Dennis will anchor the Nittany Lion’s backline, and the nine freshmen that make up its top-ranked recruiting class can be expected to make an impact.