FRISCO, Texas -- Following the postponement of fall sports earlier this August due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Southland Conference officially issued a revised strategy for a women's soccer season set in the spring semester, per a Tuesday afternoon
release from the league office.
According to the conference's updated plan, the only major departure from the usual fall kickoff remains the start date, as the league's 12 programs are slated to clash in a conventional 11-match round-robin schedule. Competition will begin on Friday, Feb. 12 and wrap up just under two months later on Friday, April 9; the top-seeded team will then play host to a four-squad, single-elimination Southland Conference Tournament the following weekend, April 15-17, in a half-sized version of the league's traditional eight-program battle royale.
The Colonels are also currently exploring non-conference opportunities beginning as early as Feb. 3.
"With the announcement of our Southland spring schedule, we can now start preparing efficiently for our 2020/21 season," head women's soccer coach
Danny Free said. "Our girls are going to be more than ready to compete this year, and that's really exciting. The last seven weeks have been tough for all our players and staff, but what we have seen so far this semester has been fantastic and I am confident that they are going to cause quite a few upsets next spring."
On Aug. 12, Southland presidents approved the postponement of league women's soccer and other fall sports to the spring semester, and later agreed on an opt-out opportunity with the spring plan. The conference office officially announced the revised football slate last week (Sept. 22), and other spring schedules for the remaining fall sports will be announced in the near future.
The spring 2021 SLC schedule features six road and five home contests for the Colonels, as the program aims to recover under second-year head coach
Danny Free. At the Nicholls Soccer Complex in Thibodaux, La., the Red & Gray will host Stephen F. Austin (Feb. 19), Sam Houston State (Feb. 21), defending champion Lamar (March 12), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (April 1) and HBU (April 3).
Road matches include at McNeese (Feb. 12) in the league opener, Northwestern State (Feb. 26), Central Arkansas (Feb. 28), Abilene Christian (March 19), UIW (March 21) and rival Southeastern Louisiana (April 9). Notably, each of the regular season matchups has a certain degree of flexibility built in, as head coaches can adjust dates with mutual agreement between both teams.
Further, it should be noted that undertaking this schedule will be contingent upon current health conditions in each university community, following the guidance from the NCAA and local medical authorities. Game management details, ticketing and attendance matters, media and broadcast issues and other operational details will be determined by the Southland and the host institutions.
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@nicholls_soccer) and like their Facebook page (
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2021 Southland Conference Spring Women's Soccer Schedule
Friday, Feb. 12
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Abilene Christian
Houston Baptist at UIW
Northwestern State at Sam Houston State
Central Arkansas at Stephen F. Austin
Southeastern Louisiana at Lamar
Nicholls at McNeese
Friday, Feb. 19
McNeese at UIW
Lamar at Abilene Christian
Central Arkansas at Houston Baptist
Stephen F. Austin at Nicholls
Northwestern St at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Sam Houston St. at Southeastern Louisiana
Sunday, Feb. 21
McNeese at Abilene Christian
Central Arkansas at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Northwestern State at Houston Baptist
Lamar at UIW
Stephen F. Austin at Southeastern Louisiana
Sam Houston State at Nicholls
Friday, Feb. 26
UIW at Sam Houston State
Abilene Christian at Stephen F. Austin
Southeastern Louisiana at Central Arkansas
Houston Baptist at McNeese
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Lamar
Nicholls at Northwestern State
Sunday, Feb. 28
Abilene Christian at Sam Houston State
Nicholls at Central Arkansas
UIW at Stephen F. Austin
Houston Baptist at Lamar
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at McNeese
Southeastern Louisiana at Northwestern State
Friday, March 12
Abilene Christian at Houston Baptist
Lamar at Nicholls
Sam Houston State at Central Arkansas
UIW at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Stephen F. Austin at Northwestern State
McNeese at Southeastern Louisiana
Friday, March 19
Southeastern Louisiana at UIW
Sam Houston at Houston Baptist
Nicholls at Abilene Christian
Central Arkansas at McNeese
Northwestern State at Lamar
Stephen F. Austin at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Sunday, March 21
Southeastern Louisiana at Abilene Christian
Central Arkansas at Lamar
Stephen F. Austin at Houston Baptist
Nicholls at UIW
Northwestern State at McNeese
Sam Houston St at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Thursday, April 1
Abilene Christian at Northwestern State
UIW at Central Arkansas
Houston Baptist at Southeastern Louisiana
Lamar at Stephen F. Austin
McNeese at Sam Houston State
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Nicholls
Saturday, April 3
Abilene Christian at Central Arkansas
Houston Baptist at Nicholls
UIW at Northwestern State
Lamar at Sam Houston State
McNeese at Stephen F. Austin
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Southeastern Louisiana
Friday, April 9
Northwestern State at Central Arkansas
UIW at Abilene Christian
Houston Baptist at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Sam Houston State at Stephen F. Austin
Lamar at McNeese
Nicholls at Southeastern Louisiana
Thu.-Sat., April 15-17
2020 Southland Conference Tournament
Hosted by top-seeded team in regular season
**Schedule subject to change
-- #GeauxColonels --
