Above photo provided by the UMHB Athletics Department
BELTON, Texas- Tuesday brought about the announcement of the 2021 UMHB women’s soccer schedule, which will be played in the fall, featuring 18 matches.
The first two will be exhibitions, with an alumni game on August 21 at 5:00 p.m. CT kicking off the slate. Three days later, the Cru will head west to San Angelo, and face Angelo State in a 7:00 p.m. CT duel. The Rams are an NCAA Div. II program, and a good one at that. ASU went 10-0 during its spring campaign in early 2021, winning the Lonestar Conference title with a 1-0 overtime win against Dallas Baptist.
Four contests against Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference members follow, with a September 1 match in Belton against Texas Lutheran at 5:00 p.m. CT, and road trips to Southwestern, Univ. of Dallas and St. Thomas (Houston) within the next 10 days.
For the first time in program history, UMHB will play the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, a team that has not played a match since 2019. That contest will be played in Belton on September 17 and another home match against Austin College is set for the following day.
Conference play begins in Marshall at East Texas Baptist on September 23, and the Cru face LeTourneau on the road two days later.
The ASC home opener features Ozarks coming to Belton on September 30 for a 5:00 p.m. CT match.
In a must-see matchup two days later, UT Dallas comes to Belton. The Comets and Cru have an extensive history, especially in the last two ASC Tournaments. In 2019, UMHB defeated UTD on placekicks to advance. This spring, it was UTD winning the match on the placekicks to advance to the ASC title game. In fact, six of the last seven meetings between the ASC rivals have been decided by one goal.
The other marquee conference contest on the slate is also at home, as Hardin-Simmons travels to Belton on October 23. The Cowgirls have been unbeatable in recent years, not just for the Cru, but for the majority of the ASC’s teams. HSU has won the last 18 conference titles, and has claimed 23 ASC titles in all. Since 2009, UMHB has played the Cowgirls 18 times, and posted an 0-18 record against them. Of course, each year brings about a new opportunity, and the Cru have a legitimate shot to defeat HSU this season, especially considering the last contest went into overtime, with HSU winning 1-0, on March 27 of this year.
Full 2021 regular season schedule (all times central):
Aug 21: Alumni Game, Belton, 5:00 p.m.
Aug 24: Angelo State, San Angelo, 7:00 p.m.
Sept 1: Texas Lutheran, Belton, 5:30 p.m.
Sept 6: Southwestern, Georgetown, 7:00 p.m.
Sept 10: Univ. of Dallas, Irving, 7:00 p.m.
Sept 11: St. Thomas (Houston), Houston, 5:00 p.m.
Sept 17: Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Belton, 7:30 p.m.
Sept 18: Austin College, Belton, 7:00 p.m. CT
Sept 23: ETBU, Marshall, 5:00 p.m.
Sept 25: LeTourneau, Longview, 5:00 p.m.
Sept 30: Ozarks, Belton, 5:00 p.m.
Oct 2: UT Dallas, Belton, 5:00 p.m.
Oct 7: Sul Ross State, Alpine, 1:00 p.m.
Oct 9: Howard Payne, Brownwood, 1:00 p.m.
Oct 16: Belhaven, Belton, 1:00 p.m.
Oct 21: McMurry, Belton, 5:00 p.m.
Oct 23: Hardin-Simmons, Belton, 5:00 p.m.
Oct 29: Concordia (TX), Belton, 5:00 p.m.
