By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – In conjunction with the release of the Ohio Valley Conference league schedule, the University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team has unveiled its full 2023 schedule which features 18 regular season matchups leading up to the OVC Soccer Championship.
The Skyhawks enter the 2023 campaign with a new look at the helm as head coach Matt Varga christens his inaugural season. Varga enters his first season at UT Martin after compiling 254 victories over 28 seasons as a collegiate head women’s soccer coach while winning three conference championships.
UT Martin is looking to shake off an uncharacteristic season in 2022 when the team boasted a 4-9-5 overall record while going 1-5-2 in OVC play.
The 2023 campaign will begin on the road as the Skyhawks travel to former conference foe Austin Peay for a matchup on Thursday, Aug. 17. A week later, UT Martin will make its home debut when hosting a pair of contests against Appalachian State (Aug. 24) and Western Carolina (Aug. 27). The team will then cap off the opening month of the season with a pair of opponents from the Blue Grass State when traveling to Kentucky (Aug. 31) before hosting another familiar foe with Murray State on Sept. 3.
September features a grueling five-match road trip beginning with a trip to Indiana State on Sept. 7 before making the trek over to Northern Iowa (Sept. 9). The following week will see the Skyhawks travel to Alabama A&M (Sept. 14) before facing off against NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 participant Memphis (Sept. 17).
The final game of the road trip features UT Martin’s first OVC match of the season with a trip to Morehead State on Sept. 21. The squad finally returns to Skyhawk Field three days later on Sept. 24 when hosting Little Rock before also squaring off against Western Illinois on Oct. 1.
The back half of the conference schedule features alternating home and away matchups. UT Martin will play host to Eastern Illinois (Oct. 8), Southern Indiana (Oct. 15) and SIUE (Oct. 19) while traveling to Lindenwood (Oct. 5), Tennessee Tech (Oct. 12) and Southeast Missouri (Oct. 22).
The 2023 OVC Championship will feature an eight-team field and will begin on Oct. 27 with the No. 5 through No. 8 seeds playing in the opening round. The winners of the first-round matchups will then advance to play the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds on Sunday, Oct. 29. All games in the first two rounds will be hosted by the better seed. The No. 1 seed (who will receive a bye to the semifinals along with the No. 2 seed) will host the semifinals on Nov. 3 with the championship held on Sunday, Nov. 5.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information
