Simpson women’s soccer releases 2021 schedule

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Simpson College women's soccer head coach Jeremy Reinert has released his team's 2021 fall schedule, which features three programs that reached the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2019, with two making the second round.

The Storm finished 4-2-1 for third place in the American Rivers Conference during the 2020-21 fall-to-spring campaign to capture back-to-back top-three placings in the league standings. The defense highlighted their efforts with four shutouts and conceded just four goals. Simpson went 10-4-5 overall and 4-2-2 in league play during 2019.

"Coming off of a great spring season, our group is eager to compete for an A-R-C title this fall," said Reinert. "We were intentional in strengthening our schedule this year. After experiencing some success in 2019 and this spring, we wanted to give ourselves a chance to see a high level of competition early to prepare us for the strength of conference play."

After competing in two exhibition matches against NCAA Division II opponents in August, the Storm kick off the season at Illinois Wesleyan on Sept. 1. The Titans won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2019.

Simpson hosts its home opener on Sept. 4 against Benedictine (Ill.) and remains at home against Knox on Sept. 8. The Storm hit the road for four straight matches, with three taking the squad out of state. Simpson visits Wisconsin-Platteville (Sept. 11), Grinnell (Sept. 15), Wisconsin-Eau Claire (Sept. 18) and Wisconsin-River Falls (Sept. 19) during the stretch.

The Storm close the month and nonconference action with three-straight home matches. Augustana (Ill.) visits on Sept. 21, Monmouth (Ill.) enters Buxton Stadium on Sept. 26 and St. Catherine travels to town on Sept. 28. The Scots earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Midwest Conference Tournament in 2019.

"The hope is that the nonconference schedule allows us to learn and grow as a group against some of the best teams in the region," Reinert said. "It's important that we take huge strides early as we will need to be playing our best soccer as soon as conference play starts."

The A-R-C slate begins at Loras on Oct. 2. The Duhawks have finished the regular season in the top two in the league standings since 2016. Central (Oct. 6) and Wartburg (Oct. 9) visit in back-to-back matches. The Knights reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2019.

Simpson hits the road to take on Dubuque (Oct. 12), Buena Vista (Oct. 20) and Coe (Oct. 23), while staying at home to take on Luther (Oct. 16) and Nebraska Wesleyan (Oct. 26) to cap off the regular season.

Home matches will be video streamed on SimpsonAthletics.com.