TicketsCINCINNATI -- Nine regular-season home matches at Gettler Stadium highlight a challenging 2021 slate for the University of Cincinnati soccer team and Head Coach Neil Stafford.
The Bearcats, who played for the American Athletic Conference Championship in the spring, return nine of 10 scorers, including 2020 AAC Defensive Player of the Year Ashley Barron, Second-Team All-AAC honorees Kendall Battle and Alli Pestaina and AAC All-Rookie Team member Lauren Bastian.
Stafford who enters his ninth season at the helm of the program and 18th as a collegiate head coach, is excited to get back on the field after an exciting spring campaign.
"Getting back to normalcy is so important for all of us, and action under the lights at Gettler will bode well for the staff, players, fans and the community," Stafford said. "We have some great opportunities versus some really top-notch competition, so I think our non-conference schedule helps prepare us for a difficult season in the American."
All home matches feature free admission thanks to the Experience UC initiative and will be televised through the ESPN+ digital platform. Bearcats fans can subscribe online today and not miss any home events this season.
SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS
• Exhibitions games against Bowling Green (Aug.10) and Dayton (Aug. 14).
• Renewal of the Riverboat Rivalry at Northern Kentucky (Aug. 19).
• Nonconference home matches vs. Toledo (Aug. 22), Virginia Tech (Aug. 29), Ball State (Sept. 2) and Eastern Illinois (Sept. 5).
• UC will also play at Kansas (Sept. 9) and feature a Sunday showcase vs. Michigan (Sept. 12).
• AAC home matches against Tulsa (Sept. 16), East Carolina (Sept. 30), SMU (Oct. 17) and UCF (Oct. 28).
• Conference road tests at Temple (Sept. 23), Memphis (Oct. 10), South Florida (Oct. 21) and Houston (Oct. 24).
• Four non-conference teams have made the NCAA Tournament in the past two seasons (Toledo made it in 2017 as well), while NKU also won the Horizon title this spring.
View the complete 2021 schedule.
"We have a variety of different opponents with different styles of play, including some real physical teams," Stafford said. "It excites me because I think it will make us more resilient down the stretch. Our conference gets better each year. I'm interested to see how our players respond after a difficult spring. Mental toughness will play a major role in October."
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati soccer, including further 2021 broadcast info, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team (@GoBearcatsWSOC) and Head Coach Neil Stafford (@UCGaffer) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.
