CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel women's soccer team opens up its 2014 season on Friday with a 4 p.m. home game against USC Upstate before heading to Conway on Sunday for a 6 p.m. contest against Coastal Carolina.
 
Live stats and video for both games will be available by going to The Citadel soccer schedule page and clicking on the appropriate link.
 
The Bulldogs return 13 of the 18 players from last year's 5-11-2 squad but must replace the high-scoring trio of Mariana Garcia, Ruth Leiva and Nicole Levermann. Senior Vanessa Aponte, the school's all-time assist leader with 15 to go along with 16 goals, returns after redshirting a year ago.
 
Sophomore Lea Raedle led The Citadel with seven assists while adding five goals last year, and senior Ana Mesa will also be looked to for scoring punch after contributing three goals and three assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Naomi Carter made 141 saves last season, the most in the Southern Conference and the second most in a season in school history.
 
USC Upstate posted a record of 4-11-3 last year and has six starters returning. Kenzie Major and Haley Gethin are the leading returning scorers for the Spartans with two goals each in 2013.
 
The Citadel holds a 2-1-0 lead in the all-time series against Upstate. In the most recent meeting, the Bulldogs won 5-0 on Sept. 2, 2011 at WLI Field. Aponte scored a pair of goals in that contest while Grace Raines, then a freshman and now a senior, tallied her lone career goal.
 
Coastal opens its season at Jacksonville on Friday before hosting the Bulldogs two days later. The Chanticleers finished 10-8-2 a year ago and outscored their opponents by a 36-15 margin, with returners Brianna Panico (6 goal, 3 assists, 15 points) and Kacey Kelley (5-5-15) leading the way.
 
The Bulldogs' only win in eight tries against Coastal came in 2009, a 1-0 victory in Conway. The Chanticleers won the last meeting by a score of 3-0 in Charleston in 2012.