GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's soccer team has unveiled a 14-match regular-season schedule for the 2021 season, head coach Allen Vital announced.
The Pioneers will play nine of their 14 matches on the road, including all three of their non-conference contests to start the season. Tusculum has just one home match in September, but finishes the year by hosting four of its final six contests.
Vital, who will begin his 11th season as head coach at his alma mater, saw the Pioneers through a disjointed spring 2021 season that ended with a 2-4-1 overall record and a 1-4-1 record in six South Atlantic Conference contests. A three-week shutdown of the program resulted in the Pioneers playing five matches in a span of 12 days to end the season.
"We are excited to return to a normal schedule with the usual competition of the South Atlantic Conference," said Vital, who has a 79-68-22 record as Tusculum head coach and has led the Pioneers to three SAC Tournament championships in his first 10 seasons. "I'm so excited for our players. The experience of last spring will no doubt serve us well as we face the competitiveness of the SAC."
Prior to the start of the regular season, the Pioneers will take part in three scrimmages, which will give Vital a chance to evaluate his newcomers and blend them in with the returning squad members.
"We are a young team with only one starter returning from the 2019 season, but I think we grew some throughout the spring season," added Vital. "It will be a big challenge, but we have the potential to become a good team and compete this year in conference and in the region."
The Pioneers will open the season with their first-ever meeting with Spring Hill on Friday, Sept. 3. The Badgers did not play during the 2020-21 season, and went 7-8-0 overall and 5-5-0 in the Gulf South Conference during the 2019 campaign.
Tusculum will make the short trip to Banner Elk, North Carolina on Tuesday, Sept. 7 to face Lees-McRae in a non-conference tilt. The Bobcats turned in a 1-7-0 record and a 1-6-0 mark in Conference Carolinas during the spring of 2021. Tusculum leads the all-time series 15-6-1, including a 2-0 win in their last meeting during the 2019 season.
The Pioneers' final non-conference tilt will be a road match at Lee on Saturday, Sept. 11. The Flames were 1-2-2 during the spring season, with a win and two ties in their three conference matches. The Flames lost 3-1 to eventual Gulf South Conference champion Union in the second round of the conference tournament. Tusculum beat Lee 2-1 in their last visit in 2018, which gave the Pioneers a 7-6 edge in the all-time series.
Tusculum will open its 10-match SAC schedule on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at Lincoln Memorial. The Pioneers and Railsplitters split two meetings last season, with each winning on their home field. LMU beat Tusculum 2-1 in overtime at home but the Pioneers came back with a 2-0 win at home in the regular-season finale. The Railsplitters finished 2-4 in the SAC pod and lost 4-0 to Carson-Newman in the quarterfinals to finish with a 2-5-0 record. Lincoln Memorial leads the all-time series over Tusculum by a 15-12-6 margin.
On Sunday, Sept. 19 the Pioneers will host Mars Hill in their home opener at Pioneer Field. The Lions took second place in the pod and sixth overall in the SAC with a 3-2-1 conference record, then lost 8-0 to Anderson in the quarterfinals to end the spring with a 3-3-2 record. The Pioneers dropped a 1-0 home decision to the Lions and played to a 1-1 draw on the road this past spring, as Tusculum holds a 16-10-5 lead in the all-time series.
Tusculum is back on the road for a trip to Coker on Saturday, Sept. 25. The Cobras were winless during the 2021 spring season, going 0-5-1 in six matches in their pod. The Pioneers have won two straight over the Cobras, including a 5-2 win in their last meeting in 2019 which gave Tusculum a 5-3 lead in the all-time series.
September will close with a visit to rival Carson-Newman on Wednesday, Sept. 29. The Eagles were the top seed in the conference during the spring of 2021, going 5-1 in their pod which included two wins over the Pioneers by identical 3-0 scores. Carson-Newman beat Lincoln Memorial 4-0 in the SAC quarterfinals but fell to eventual champion Wingate 2-0 in the semifinals to end the season with a 7-2-1 record. Tusculum still has a 17-15-7 lead in the all-time series with Carson-Newman, including two wins and two draws in their last four fall meetings.
The Pioneers' third straight road match will be at Anderson on Saturday, Oct. 2. The Trojans finished atop their pod in the spring of 2021 with a 4-1 record, then claimed an 8-0 win over Mars Hill in the SAC quarterfinals before being bounced 1-0 by Lenoir-Rhyne in the semifinals to end the season at 5-2-1. The Trojans beat the Pioneers twice during the 2019 season, including a 3-1 win in the SAC quarterfinals, and Anderson leads the all-time series by a slim 8-7-1 margin.
Four of the final six matches of the regular season will be at Pioneer Field, beginning with Newberry on Saturday, Oct. 9. The Wolves failed to qualify for the SAC Tournament after going 1-5 in pod matches and 1-6 overall during the spring. The Pioneers have never lost to the Wolves, going 18-0-3 since 1998 including a 2-1 overtime win on the road during the 2019 season.
Tusculum's first-ever SAC match with Limestone is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 13 at Limestone. The Saints, who joined the SAC last season but were restricted to pod matches only during the spring, went 4-1 in conference play and fell to Wingate 7-1 in the SAC quarterfinals to end the spring with a 4-2-1 record. Tusculum and Limestone have met three times while the Saints were members of Conference Carolinas, with the Saints winning in 2010 and 2011 and the Pioneers earning a victory in the last meeting in 2012.
The Pioneers host Lenoir-Rhyne on Sunday, Oct. 17. The Bears were 4-0-1 in conference pod play in the spring and advanced to the SAC Tournament finals, where they fell 1-0 to Wingate in the championship match to end the year at 6-1-1. The Pioneers have a win and a draw in their last two meetings with the Bears, and have an 18-10-4 lead in the all-time series.
Tusculum final road trip of the regular season is to defending SAC champion Wingate on Saturday, Oct. 23. The Bulldogs, ranked sixth in the United Soccer Coaches preseason Division II poll, went 4-1-1 in pod play last spring and swept their way to the SAC title and a 7-1-1 overall record. The Pioneers have won two straight over the Bulldogs, including a 2-1 win at home in 2019, and hold a 16-13-0 edge in the series.
The Pioneers close the regular season with back-to-back home matches, starting on Saturday, Oct. 30 against Catawba. The Indians came up short in a bid for a SAC Tournament berth last spring, going 1-3-1 in their pod and 2-3-1 overall. Tusculum has won the last three meetings with Catawba to extend their lead in the series to 16-11-1.
Queens will visit Pioneer Field to close the regular season on Wednesday, Nov. 3. The Royals were 2-5 overall and 2-4 in SAC pod play during the spring, dropping a 5-1 decision to Lenoir-Rhyne in the quarterfinals after earning the seventh seed in the SAC Tournament. Queens has won three straight regular-season meetings over Tusculum, but the Pioneers lead the all-time series 6-4.
The eight-team SAC Championship tournament will begin on Saturday, Nov. 6 with quarterfinal matches at campus sites. The semifinals will be played Friday, Nov. 12 at Matthews, North Carolina as will the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 14.
