By Mason Nesbitt, TMU Sports Information Director

The Master’s University women’s soccer team will kick off its 2018 season with a scrimmage at NCAA Division 1 Cal State Bakersfield on Aug. 10.

The team will visit Florida this season with hopes of setting the stage for a return to the Deep South two months later.

In other words, Mustang coach Curtis Lewis has dialed up a grueling, four-game slate in late August that he hopes will test his group and prepare it for a run at NAIA nationals in Alabama at season’s end.

Master’s, which released its 2018 schedule Wednesday, will open its regular season on the road against Southeastern University (FL) on Aug. 18.

hen it will play Warner University, Keiser University and St. Thomas University, all Florida schools, over the next seven days. Southeastern and Keiser each finished in the top 15 of the NAIA’s postseason top 25. St. Thomas received votes.

The trip won’t be consumed by trials, however.

The Mustangs are renting a 14-room, nine-bath house that features a duckpin bowling alley and a cinema room.

“When they open that door, I think they’re going to be like, ‘Whoa,'” Lewis said.

Lewis hopes the trip also opens the door to one of the program’s best seasons. The Mustangs return a solid veteran core headlined by reigning Golden State Athletic Conference co-Player of the Year Jasmine Parada and All-GSAC selections Lynnae George, Hailey Gomillion and Kayla Peterson.

Master’s won its NAIA Opening Round game 1-0 over Olivet Nazarene (Illinois) a year ago before falling in the first round of the NAIA final site competition in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Lewis said he’d like to see his team challenge for a conference title and win a game at in Alabama this season. Of its eight GSAC games, Master’s will play Vanguard, Arizona Christian, Hope International and San Diego Christian at Reese Field.

It will travel to play William Jessup (Rocklin, CA), Menlo College (Atherton, CA), Westmont College and its newest conference foe, Ottawa University Arizona (Surprise, AZ).

“I like that our first scrimmage is Bakersfield, a D1 program right off the bat, go after it, test yourself,” Lewis said.

See the complete schedule here.