FAYETTE, Mo. – Central Methodist University men's soccer head coach Alex Nichols has announced the team's 2019 schedule, opening play with a Wednesday evening match against William Woods on August 21st. The fall slate includes a number of ranked teams and as well as four NAIA National Tournament participants from last season. | FULL SCHEDULE
"We are very excited about the competitiveness at the start of our schedule," stated Coach Nichols. "We continue to challenge ourselves with a very tough non-conference schedule to prepare us for the rigors of Heart play."
The Eagles will face three teams mentioned in the postseason edition of the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll before kicking off conference play. The non-conference schedule is highlighted by matches against No. 7 Cardinal Stritch, No. 15 Bellevue, and (RV) William Woods.
"We'll be facing some tough competition early on, not only in ranked opponents but others that are typically up there," stated Nichols. "Bethel is usually a Top 3 contender in the Crossroads Conference, William Woods is typically a Top 3 team in the AMC, Campbellsville was receiving votes throughout most of the season last year, and a Northwestern team that is always a very good program as well."
Prior to the official home opener, the Eagles will host Truman State University for an exhibition match on August 17. The Bulldogs are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, competing at the NCAA Division II level.
The official schedule opens with a home debut against William Woods on Wednesday, August 21, followed by a road opening trip to Campbellsville (Ky.) on August 25. Non-conference play will wrap up on the road at Roosevelt University, located in Chicago, on September 14.
After a weekend in the Windy City, CMU will open conference play with a home rivalry match against the Missouri Valley College Vikings on September 18th at 7:30 PM. The remainder of the home schedule will include Grand View (Sept 21), Benedictine (Sept. 25), Culver-Stockton (Oct. 9), Clarke (Oct. 13), and Baker (Oct. 19).
The road schedule in conference play will take Central to Mount Mercy (Sept. 28), William Penn (Oct. 5), Evangel (Oct. 16), Graceland (Oct. 26), and MidAmerica Nazarene (Oct. 30).
Central finished the season at the top of the coaches' poll in the postseason after earning the university's first team national championship banner. They were followed in the rankings by two conference opponents: No. 2 Missouri Valley and No. 9 Baker. MidAmerica Nazarene and Benedictine were also mentioned in the "others receiving votes" category.
