BELTON, Texas- The 2021 UMHB men’s soccer schedule was released Tuesday, as the Cru return to a fall slate that features 15 matches.
Conference play accounts for 10 of those, with the other five being part of non-conference action.
In UMHB’s lone exhibition match of the season, the Cru will play an alumni game on August 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT in Belton, kicking off the 2021 campaign.
The first official match for head coach Brad Bankhead’s squad is set for September 1 in Belton, as Texas Lutheran, a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) faces the Cru in a midweek duel set for 7:30 p.m. CT.
Just three days later, the Crusaders will take the pitch some 1,510 miles from Belton in Grantham, Pennsylvania. A Saturday afternoon September 4 contest pits UMHB against Messiah College, a program ranked No. 9 in the nation in 2019 (which was the last time United Soccer Coaches did a Div. III poll). The Cru will remain in Pennsylvania for one additional match on September 6 in Lancaster against Franklin and Marshall College. Both matches are set for 6:00 p.m. CT.
SCAC programs St. Thomas (Houston) and Trinity close out the non-conference portion of the slate, and September 23 marks the ASC opener. A road trip to east Texas features ETBU on the 23rd at 7:30 p.m. CT and LeTourneau on the 25th at the same time.
In an interesting storyline, Ozarks, the team that knocked UMHB out of the this spring’s ASC Tournament on placekicks, heads to Belton for the Cru’s conference home opener. Set for September 30 at 7:30 p.m. CT, the match is expected to be a very competitive one, with UMHB looking for revenge. Ozarks won the ASC tournament in a 3-1 victory over Concordia (TX).
Speaking of the Tornadoes of Concordia, a program UMHB has a long history with, they will travel to Belton for the Cru’s final regular season game on October 29 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Since 2009, UMHB is 10-3-2 against the Tornadoes, winning the last meeting in Austin 3-1.
Complete 2021 regular season schedule (all times central):
Aug 21: Alumni Game, Belton, 7:30 p.m.
Sept 1: Texas Lutheran, Belton, 7:30 p.m.
Sept 4: Messiah College, Grantham, PA, 6:00 p.m.
Sept 6: Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, 6:00 p.m.
Sept 11: St. Thomas (Houston), Belton, 7:00 p.m.
Sept 17: Trinity (TX), San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.
Sept 23: ETBU, Marshall, 7:30 p.m.
Sept 25: LeTourneau, Longview, 7:30 p.m.
Sept 30: Ozarks, Belton, 7:30 p.m.
Oct 2: UT Dallas, Belton, 7:30 p.m.
Oct 7: Sul Ross State, Alpine, 3:30 p.m.
Oct 9: Howard Payne, Brownwood, 3:30 p.m.
Oct 16: Belhaven, Belton, 3:30 p.m.
Oct 21: McMurry, Belton, 7:30 p.m.
Oct 23: Hardin-Simmons, Belton, 7:30 p.m.
Oct 29: Concordia (TX), Belton, 7:30 p.m.
