USAF ACADEMY, CO – Siena Women's Soccer kicks off the program's milestone 40^th varsity season with a pair of matches this weekend in Colorado. The Saints open against Air Force on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local time) on the campus of the United States Air Force Academy, before traveling to nearby Colorado College for a 1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. MT) kickoff Sunday.

"We've had a great summer getting ready for the season, always anxious to see the new team come in, and so far so good," said head coach Steve Karbowski who embarks upon his 21^st season at the helm. "We've got two really good games (this weekend), so I think we're going to see where we're at, get some game fitness out of it, and get a lot of players a good run over the weekend."

Follow the Saints all weekend long in Colorado for updates both on and off the field via the team's social media platforms - @SienaWSoccer (twitter), SienaWomensSoccer (facebook), and @sws_saints (instagram). Additionally, the team will be doing an instagram story takeover of the NCAA Soccer instagram account (@NCAASoccer) on Saturday. Continuous in-match pressbox updates will be provided throughout both matches from the @SienaWSoccer twitter account, and fans can watch both contests and follow along with the live stats by clicking the corresponding links on the schedule page.

Siena is looking to build off a highly successful 2018 campaign which saw the Saints advance to the MAAC Championship Match for the fifth time in program history. Siena returns eight of 11 starters, more than 80% of its goal scoring, and 2018 MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year Taylor Dorado from last year's squad which achieved an 11-8-3 overall record and finished third in the MAAC with a 6-2-2 league ledger. The Saints also welcome five true freshmen to the 2019 squad, which was recently projected to finish third according to the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Siena embarks upon its 2019 campaign following back-to-back 11-win seasons, and has achieved a .500 or better record in each of the past six years. The Saints finished last season strong, winning eight of their final 10 matches highlighted by a pair of separate four-match winning streaks thanks in large part to a stout defense. Siena set a new program single-season record with 10 shutouts, punctuated by a school-best shutout streak of 513:27. The Saints return nearly all of their backline intact with senior defenders Madi Belvito, Hanna Longendyke, and Haleigh Schanz in front of Dorado in goal.

Siena is an impressive 7-2-2 over its last 11 season openers, and is unbeaten over its past four (2-0-2). The Saints open their 2019 campaign with four consecutive road contests to match the program's longest road trip overall to open a season (1995), and lengthiest road trip overall since playing five straight away from home in 2000. Siena is making just the program's second-ever trip west of the Mississippi, following an appearance in Idaho State's Bengal Classic in 2002.

The Saints are set to battle a pair of Mountain West Conference opponents this weekend in Air Force and Colorado College, who were predicted to place 11^th and eighth, respectively, according to the league's 12-team preseason poll. Siena has never previously before played a Mountain West program.

Air Force returns six starters and 15 letterwinners from last year's team which posted a 2-9-6 record, including a 1-7-3 mark in conference action. The Falcons are opening their season with a five-match homestand.