Schedule Release and Season Preview: Women’s Soccer Primed for a Special Season
ANKENY, Iowa—One year after falling in the regional final by the score of 1-0 to the eventual national champion, the Faith Eagles women's soccer team is primed for a special season.
The Eagles return six starters, including a school-record four All-Americans from 2020 (Karina Fritz, Abigail Speichinger, Allison Yuan, Kristin Yuan), and numerous other key contributors, so the foundation is arguably as strong as it has ever been entering a new season. Coach Zack Barron believes there are at least four incoming freshmen who will make an immediate impact on this year's squad.
Faith faces some stiff competition during its 12-game regular season schedule. The Eagles begin the 2021 campaign with a game at Buena Vista University on August 26. Their first home match of the season is against Lincoln Christian on Saturday, September 4, before back-to-back road trips to Crown College and Iowa Wesleyan. Following a home match against Ecclesia College and an away game against Bethany Lutheran (one of the toughest games on the schedule, according to Coach Barron), the Eagles finish the month of September with a huge home matchup against defending champion Maranatha—a team the Eagles beat once and lost twice to a year ago. Faith finishes the regular season with three extremely challenging matchups—two at home against Grace Christian University on October 21/22, and one on the road at Maranatha on October 28. Six of the Eagles' seven home games are on Saturdays.
The Eagles finished with a record of three wins and six losses a year ago in a fall season ravaged by problems with the coronavirus and games against schools of much larger competition. The team hopes for a return to the national tournament at Austin-Tindall Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida, in mid-November. The Eagles' last trip to the national tournament was two seasons ago when Faith finished third.
The theme for this year's team is unity and walking worthy, based on the passage in Ephesians 4:1-6. The full schedule is available here.
