NEW YORK - Columbia head women's soccer coach Kevin McCarthy has announced the 2012 women's soccer schedule.

The Lions will play a total of 16 matches with eight at home, including five consecutive matches at Columbia Soccer Stadium in September. Columbia's non-league slate contains nine teams from seven conferences. The Ivy League schedule begins on September 21 at home against Cornell. The Lions will travel to face last season's top three teams, including league champion Harvard.

Columbia will begin the season with a two game road trip in the nation's capital. On Saturday, September 1 the Lions will kick off the season at George Washington at 1pm. They will follow with a Labor Day battle at Georgetown on Monday, September 3 at 1pm.

To begin a string of five consecutive home matches, Columbia will start with their home opener against Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday, September 7 at 7pm in Columbia Soccer Stadium. Next, the Lions welcome three New York opponents including St. John's, Fordham, and 2011 MAAC Tournament Champion Marist. Columbia will close their five game home stretch with Ivy League opponent Cornell on Friday, September 21 at 7pm.

On Sunday, September 23 the Lions head to West Point, N.Y. to face the 2011 Patriot League Champions, Army. After Columbia travels to Brown to face the Bears, they will return home to begin the next month against Lehigh on Monday, October 1 at 7pm.

Following a weekend road trip to face Ivy League Penn on Friday, October 5 and New Jersey Institue of Technology on Sunday, October 7, the Lions will begin a four game Ivy League run. The final two home matches of the season will see the Princeton Tigers on Saturday, October 13 at 7pm and the Big Green of Dartmouth on Saturday, October 20 at 4pm. To close out the regular season the Lions will meet Yale and Harvard on the road.