Weekly Release No. 1>

Colorado College officially launches its 29th season at the NCAA Division I level this week with a pair of matches against in-state rivals in the Third Annual Colorado Cup. The tournament kicks off on Friday, Aug. 23, when the Tigers visit the University of Denver at 7:30 p.m. Defending cup champion University of Colorado takes on the University of Northern Colorado in the first game nightcap 5 p.m.

The competition shifts to Boulder on Sunday, Aug. 25, for a doubleheader that starts with the Pioneers taking on UNC at 1 p.m. CC tangles with the Buffs in the tournament finale at 2:30 p.m. The champion, determined by a points system based on outcomes of the matches along with goals scored for and against, receives a glass bowl that will reside on its campus until fall of 2014, when the same four teams kick off another season.
 
The Tigers own a 13-6-1 lead in the all-time series with Denver, but the Pioneers prevailed by a 3-1 count in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament. CC's most recent victory against DU, a 1-0 shutout, took place last year at Northern Colorado in the opening game of the Colorado Cup. The Tigers won 12 consecutive showdowns before Denver recorded a 4-2 victory in 1994.

Colorado holds a 6-2-1 advantage in nine previous encounters with Colorado College. Last year, the teams played to a scoreless draw when the Buffs made their first appearance at Stewart Field since 2001.

CC returns seven starters and 19 veterans from last season's squad that posted a 14-4-5 overall record and earned the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006. Included among the veterans is junior Jessie Ayers (Seattle, WA), a two-time Conference USA Midfielder of the Year and first-team all-conference pick, who paced the team with seven goals and was second with 18 points.

The midfield will be fortified by senior Madison Whitehead (Highland Village, TX), who posted career highs of six goals and 13 points during the 2012 season when she was a second-team all-league selection. Senior Kecia Morway (Lake Villa, IL), who was named to the C-USA third team, will anchor the Colorado College defense. Scheele started 10 games a year ago, posting a 4-2-4 record with a 1.12 goals-against average and a .790 save percentage.

Despite not allowing a goal in two games, Colorado College narrowly missed out on claiming the cup for the first time due to goals differential. In the season opener, Lynn Froetscher (Glencoe, IL) struck in the 62nd minute to give CC a 1-0 victory over Denver. Froetscher, who missed the entire 2011 season after suffering a knee injury during the preseason, knocked in the rebound of a shot by Ayers.

Goalkeeper Kate Scheele (Seattle, WA) stopped all five shots she faced, including four in the second half, to record a shutout in her collegiate debut. Despite a 12-6 edge in total shots against Colorado, including an 8-2 advantage in the second half and 20 minutes of overtime, the Tigers were unable to score goal and CU escaped with a 0-0 tie.

The Colorado College defense allowed just one shot on goal and Scheele became the first freshman goaltender since Geneva Sills in 2005 to record back-to-back shutouts to begin a season. Both teams completed the weekend with a 1-0-1 record, but the Buffs claimed the prize on a tie-breaker – a 3-1 goals differential in the two matches.

The Tigers made up for the loss of eight graduating seniors by adding a pair of local products to the program as transfers. Junior Jennifer Stoot, a Cheyenne Mountain High School product who played at Purdue in 2011, and sophomore Sarah Schweiss, who spent her freshman season at TCU after graduating from Air Academy High School, will add skill and experience to the lineup.

A defensive midfielder, Stoot appeared in seven games during her freshman season with the Boilermakers and has three seasons of eligibility remaining. Schweiss appeared in 14 games, including 10 as a starter, for the Horned Frogs during the 2012 season. Despite missing seven games due to an injury, she worked her way back into the starting lineup for the final five contests and helped TCU advance to the championship game of the Big 12 tournament.

Next week, CC plays the first of 10 home matches when Appalachian State University, Southern Utah University and the University of Vermont descend on Stewart Field for the 2013 Colorado College Invitational. The tournament kicks off on Friday, Aug. 30, with a 1:30 p.m. contest between Southern Utah and Vermont. The Tigers play host to ASU at 4 p.m. Two days later, the Thunderbirds take on Appalachian State at 10 a.m., followed by the tournament finale between UVM and Colorado College at 12:30 p.m.