<strong>Sept. 19 W. Soccer vs. University of Connecticut</strong>

The Terriers have struggled in the early going with out-of-conference opponents, including losses to teams such as No. 2 Stanford University, No. 6 Boston College and No. 19 University of South Carolina. However, this game against UConn could provide BU with just the big-name win it needs. The Huskies started out the season 0-3-1. In fact, their first game was a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of BC, a team BU fell to by only one goal. If the Terriers can overcome their Big East foes like the Eagles before them, it should give them some necessary momentum as they forge their way toward the conference part of their schedule.

<strong>Oct. 9 M. Soccer vs. University of Hartford </strong>

This is the definition of a revenge game. First, BU lost to Hartford in the first round of last year's AE tournament to end its 2009 campaigns. However, the Terriers got their first dose of revenge when they embarrassed the Hawks on their home field last Saturday via a 3-0 thrashing. Further complicating matters was the fact that the BU win ended Hartford's 10-game winning streak in their home openers. So now the proverbial vengeful shoe is on the other foot, meaning that this in-season rematch very well could be an explosive affair.

<strong>Oct. 15 W. Hockey vs. Wayne State University</strong>

This may be the one game on this list where the opponent really doesn't matter. (Any BU student who can name the Wayne State mascot without Googling it deserves a prize of some sort.) What does matter in this early fall hockey game is that it is the first regular-season home game for the women's hockey team, and that means the BU debuts for Jenn Wakefield (a former Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalist and University of New Hampshire standout) and Canadian national team members Marie-Philip Poulin and Catherine Ward. Poulin, in particular, will be the one to watch. She's been named the "Sidney Crosby of women's hockey." That's not just women's college hockey either; that's of all women's hockey. No decent BU hockey fan wants to be the one who said he or she wasn't there for her college debut.

<strong>Oct. 20 Field Hockey vs. UConn </strong>

Sure, making it over to Jack Barry Field in Cambridge may be a little difficult for most BU students, but for those looking to scratch their "outdoor hockey" itch, this BU-UConn matchup may be the one to witness. The Huskies finished the 2009 regular with the second-most wins in Division I with 19 and with a No. 5 ranking. They stumbled in the first round of the NCAA tournament by falling to Drexel University 3-2. However, that loss could lead the Huskies to be hungrier in 2010, even if it is this late in the season. The Terriers will be craving a victory of their own against their fellow New Englanders; they fell 3-1 in Storrs, Conn. last season. This game, the Terriers' only out-of-conference match-up in their final four contests, should also act as a nice reprieve from AE action before the end of the regular season and the beginning of the conference tournament.

<strong>Nov. 12 M. Hockey vs. Merrimack College</strong>

When it comes to men's hockey, the name Merrimack doesn't jump off the page like much bigger collegiate powerhouses BC, University of Wisconsin or University of Notre Dame, all of who are on the Terriers' schedules in 2010-11. (Attending a BU-BC game should be an obvious decision.) However, the Terriers' game against the Warriors will be the measuring-stick game for the men in scarlet and white. This will be when fans truly discover whether or not BU has improved since last year's disappointments or if they are in for more of the same. That's because these two teams met in the first round of the Hockey East tournament last season with the Terriers eking by the Warriors in the three-game series. Now that 2009-10 NCAA and HE Rookie of the Year Stephane Da Costa is a year older and a year wiser, the Warriors seem ready to build on their best-ever season since they joined the power conference. Can the Terriers continue to hold off the up-and-comers, or will they continue to comparatively struggle since winning it all in 2009? This will be when both questions are answered.

<strong>Nov. 12 W. Basketball vs. Boston College</strong>

For fans that want to see just how far last year's freshman phenoms Chantell Alford and Caitlynn Moran have advanced over the summer, this first home contest at Case Gymnasium should provide some answers. Junior guard Alex Young should also be healthy enough to take charge of the backcourt after missing the team's WNIT game with injury. The fact that the game is against cross-town rival BC, a team to which the Terriers fell 69-61 last season, should help matters.

<strong>Nov. 27 M. Basketball vs. Cornell University</strong>

Six months ago, Cornell was getting fitted for its glass slippers as the Cinderella of the NCAA tournament. The Big Red advanced all the way to the Sweet 16 before bowing out to Kentucky University. If coach Patrick Chambers and the rest of the Terriers are to prove to fans that the future is now and that they can compete with the best of the nation, they'll need to beat the Big Red. What's more, this is the first home game at The Roof for the Terriers, so this will be the first opportunity BU fans get to see transfers Matt Griffin, Patrick Hazel and Darryl Partin.