Utah Soccer Announces 2021 Schedule

SALT LAKE CITY – Fresh off the spring season, Utah soccer is set to return to the pitch this fall with the home opener taking place on Thursday, Aug. 19 against Portland at Ute Field. In his first season at the helm of the program, Hideki Nakada will lead his squad against seven 2021 NCAA tournament teams and will have 9-of-11 conference matches televised on the Pac-12 Networks.

"First and most importantly, I am thankful and incredibly exited for our student-athletes to have their first full season back since 2019," said Nakada on the fall schedule. "We are excited to open our season at home against two strong opponents to measure where we stand immediately, and the rest of the non-conference schedule will certainly get us ready for Pac-12 play. We couldn't have asked for a better challenge to start the conference season than to open against Stanford - the national champions from the last fall season. It's going to be another exceptional season in the Pac-12 and we could not be more excited about it."

Nakada and the Utes will get the new era of Utah soccer underway against Portland in the home opener on Thursday, Aug. 19, before closing out the weekend of home action against Boise State (Aug. 22). The Utes will hit the road to take on Denver (Aug. 26) and will return to Salt Lake City for a matchup with Northern Colorado (Aug. 29) to end the month.

A two-match road swing will be the next stop for Utah soccer, traveling to play Illinois State (Sept. 2) in Normal, Ill., and then wrapping up the trip against Butler (Sept. 5) in Indianapolis, Ind.

With non-conference play winding down, Utah is set to host in-state rival BYU (Sept. 9) to open the week's play, while Dixie State (Sept. 12) will come to town to close out the home non-conference matches. The final match before Pac-12 play begins for the Utes will be a short trip up to Logan, Utah, to face their third consecutive in-state opponent in Utah State (Sept. 16).

The grind of Pac-12 Conference play begins on the road against the 2019 national champions, taking on the Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alto, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 24. Utah will then host Washington State (Sept. 30) and Washington (Oct. 3) for the first conference matches at Ute Field.

Utah will hit the road again and head to Los Angeles to face UCLA (Oct. 7) and USC (Oct. 10) before returning home for a three-match homestand. The Utes will start the trio of home matches against California (Oct. 15), while welcoming Oregon State (Oct. 21) and Oregon (Oct. 24) the following weekend.

The final two weeks of the regular season will see a road trip to the desert schools, first traveling to Tucson, Ariz. for a matchup with Arizona (Oct. 28), followed by a short drive to Tempe to close out the weekend at Arizona State (Oct. 31). The final contest of the regular season will be in Salt Lake City against Colorado (Nov. 5) before Utah looks to postseason play.

The NCAA Tournament will begin Friday, Nov. 12 with the first round of action. For a full look at the 2021 Utah soccer schedule, click here.