MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner Women's Soccer announced its 2021 schedule Tuesday featuring four NAIA National Tournament qualifiers and hosting an NCAA DI National Tournament team. "The first thing that excites me is being able to play in the fall," Head Coach Pritchard Ndaira said. "It was fun to play in the spring, but just coming out of a season and not spending a lot of time thinking about the season, but getting to another season is fun for our players. I think it's a really good schedule for us. We have a lot of good teams, a lot of top teams that will challenge and that will help us become a better team."

Big Time Matchups
A quick glance at the schedule pops a handful of names off the 17 regular season game schedule--Alabama State, Keiser, William Carey and UT-Southern the former Martin Methodist. Sept. 12 the Hornets come to Billy D. Hilyer Stadium, marking the first time since 2000 when the softball team hosted then Troy State that Faulkner has hosted an NCAA DI opponent in a counting contest. "We usually play ASU every year but we weren't able to play the game last year because of the COVID restrictions so we're looking forward to this game," Ndaira said. "It's always fun when all the fans from ASU and Faulkner can attend and be excited about these games."
 
Faulkner travels to reigning national champion Keiser Sept. 18 before a 12-day layoff to prepare to open conference play against the national runner-up William Carey. "Any time you get to play against the defending national champions it's very exciting because you're playing against the best," Ndaira said. "We have an opportunity early on in the season to measure up against some of the top teams in the country." The Seahawks defeated the Crusaders 2-1 five minutes into overtime to claim the red banner.

The Lady Eagles head to Pulaski, Tenn. to face a familiar school with a fresh face: UT Southern. Formerly Martin Methodist, the then RedHawks held an undefeated record into the national tournament before being upset in the quarterfinals last season. The Firehawks host Faulkner Aug. 21.

Good to be Home
The Lady Eagles will play the first counting game for any Faulkner program on the newly resurfaced John Mark Stallings Field Aug. 19 against Ave Maria. The opening of the turf will bring excitement to the players and the students, says Ndaira. "It's been a long time coming. The YMCA facilities were great, but it's always nice to be able to play on your own turf and your own home. Our players are excited to finally have our home games on campus. We're excited for the student body to be able to just walk from their dorms to watch our games as well. As for Ave, they're coming off a really good season and will be bringing in a good team so we know we're going to get a good game out of that." The contest will be the second time in three years the home schedule has opened with the Gyrenes.

Life comes to Montgomery September 2 in the last matchup before the Running Eagles join the conference next year. 

Another former conference opponent hits the schedule in Belhaven as the Blazer visit Sept. 7. This will mark the first time since 2014 that the two sides have met. "I remember from the days I used to play, we used to play them a lot and they used to come on top so we're exciting to renew that rivalry again. They've been doing well in DIII so we know we're going to get a good opponent and a good team." 

After nearly a month of between home games, the Lady Eagles will open home SSAC play against new conference foe Talladega Oct. 7 and the Blue Mountain Oct. 9. The Toppers will be in their inaugural season. "It's exciting to get to play new teams. Of course, we've played Talladega before but it carries a little bit more weight now because it is a conference game and they've got good things going on for them. I'm excited to see what kind of team they'll put together. Blue Mountain as well, a brand new team so we really don't know what to expect from them as well. That's exciting too for our players so we can face different teams with different philosophies so that will be exciting. We're looking forward to facing them in conference."

The home slate wraps up with Dalton State Oct. 28.

Road Tests
Three of the first four matches will be on the road to neighboring states. Two days after the home opener, the Lady Eagles travel to UT Southern. Point plays host on August 26 while Freed-Hardeman welcomes the Lady Eagles two days later. 

Sept. 4 will see Faulkner travel to Mississippi University for Women. A Miami road trip highlights the beachgoers season's travel schedule with a contest with St. Thomas Sept. 17 before facing Keiser. 

Conference play opens against William Carey Sept. 30 on the road before facing Mobile Oct. 2. "They're both top teams and it's a tough weekend, but we want to start off the right way and set a tone for conference play," Ndaira said. "We want to have a good performance we can look at as we go through conference play and hopefully finish conference play in a good position like we did last season." 

Travel concludes Oct. 21 and Oct. 23 with SSAC contests against Middle Georgia and Brewton-Parker, respectively. 

The full schedule can be found on FaulknerEagles.com