2021 Soccer Schedule

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel has released its complete 2021 soccer schedule as announced by Head Coach Ciaran Traquair on Tuesday afternoon, a slate that includes eight regular-season home dates at WLI Field and a marquee non-conference matchup at in-state SEC foe South Carolina in the season opener.
 
Coming off a 7-9-3 campaign that saw the Bulldogs play in both the fall and spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs are set to kick off the new season with a pair of local exhibitions. The Citadel will welcome Charleston Southern to WLI Field on Aug. 8 before battling crosstown rival College of Charleston in its final preseason match on August 14 at Patriots Point.
 
In its regular season opener at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 19, The Citadel will make the trek to Columbia to battle South Carolina for only the second time in program history. The Gamecocks claimed the only other meeting during the 2006 season, but The Citadel will be looking to maintain its perfect record in regular season openers under Traquair; the Bulldogs have won their first match in all five seasons of his tenure, including last year's 2-1 win at Georgia Southern.
 
Following the bout with South Carolina, The Citadel will remain on the road for its next two contests, traveling to Gardner-Webb (Aug. 22) and USC Upstate (Aug. 26). The squad will be seeking its first-ever victory in the series against Gardner-Webb and will go for its first win over the Spartans since 2014.
 
The regular season home opener is set for Sunday, Aug. 29, at 1 p.m. against Anderson, where Traquair coached for two seasons prior to accepting The Citadel's head coaching position in 2016; while there, Traquair posted a 21-14-2 overall record. The Bulldogs knocked off the Trojans in a 4-1 victory last season in a match that saw Logan Dix rack up a goal and a pair of assists to overcome an early 1-0 deficit.
 
Three consecutive home matches will follow the opener as The Citadel welcomes Georgia Southern (Aug. 31), Presbyterian (Sept. 3) and Stetson (Sept. 5) to WLI Field. The Bulldogs defeated the Eagles twice during the 2020-21 season and have won two of their last three outings against the Blue Hose. The Hatters and Bulldogs have met only once in program history, a Stetson victory back in 2015.
 
The Citadel will wrap up its non-conference slate with a two-leg trip to the mountains, battling UNC Asheville (Sept. 9) and Johnson (Sept. 11). The Bulldogs will be aiming for their first-ever road win in Asheville after dropping the previous three matches there and will be taking on Johnson in Knoxville, Tenn., for the first time.
 
Remaining on the road to open Southern Conference play, The Citadel will head to ETSU (Sept. 24) and Western Carolina (Sept. 26) on the first weekend of conference tilts. The Bulldogs' meeting against the Bucs was cancelled due to pandemic protocols this past season, but The Citadel earned its first point over Western Carolina since 2010 with a 1-1 draw on April 3.
 
Chattanooga (Oct. 1) and Samford (Oct. 3) will visit WLI Field for the first home matches of the conference slate as The Citadel looks to snap long droughts against both squads. Wins would give the Bulldogs their first in the series against the Mocs since 2014 and against Samford since 2013; both were tight matches in 2020-21 as The Citadel fell 1-0 at Chattanooga and 3-0 at Samford despite playing to a 0-0 deadlock through the first 75 minutes.
 
A stretch of three straight road matches awaits the Bulldogs in mid-October as they make trips to VMI (Oct. 8), UNCG (Oct. 10) and Mercer (Oct. 15). The Citadel earned its third straight victory over archrival VMI last season, its longest winning streak in the series, and also claimed its first-ever win over Mercer in a non-conference battle in Macon last October.
 
Matches against Wofford and Furman at WLI Field will round out the regular season schedule for the Bulldogs. The Citadel most recently defeated Wofford in a thrilling 3-2 victory in the SoCon Tournament in Spartanburg in 2018 and will try for its first home win against Furman since the 2010 campaign.
 
The SoCon Tournament play-in matches will be contested on Oct. 26 to kick off postseason play, following by the quarterfinals (Oct. 29), semifinals (Oct. 31) and the championship match on Nov. 6.
 
All regular season home matches at WLI Field are set to be broadcast on ESPN+ as in previous seasons. Dates and times of all matches are subject to change throughout the season.

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