ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's soccer team and head coach Marc Reeves announced the program's exciting 2021 fall slate on Tuesday, Aug. 3. The Phoenix is scheduled to play 17 regular season contests along with three exhibition matches this fall.
 
Including exhibitions, the Phoenix is set to play nine matches at the home confines at Rudd Field. Elon will also face a pair of teams that made the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
 
"Building off a strong finish to the spring and summer that saw a lot of our players have great success, we are excited to be back playing a full fall schedule," said Reeves. "This preseason, we will prepare to maximize our groups potential. Playing three exhibition games will allow us to learn a great deal about the group."
 
Elon opens the fall campaign with three home exhibitions matches versus Gardner-Webb (Aug. 15), UNCG (Aug. 20) before facing Barton (Aug. 23) in its final preseason tune-up. The Phoenix kicks off the 2021 season in Durham, N.C., facing Merrimack on Aug. 27. Three days later, Elon hosts Liberty for its home-opener on Aug. 30 to close out the month.
 
The Phoenix travels to Birmingham, Ala., for a tournament hosted by UAB. Elon opens versus University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) on Sept. 3, before concluding the weekend against Central Arkansas on Sept. 5.
 
"We are thankful to Duke and UAB for the tournament invites on the opening two weekends as it affords us the opportunity to play some great opponents," said Reeves. "With these games being closer together and still early in the season, we expect the depth in our roster to help us perform well. Starting the regular season these four tournament games are part of our very strong non-conference schedule that we believe is important to challenge our players."
 
Elon then turns its focus to Colonial Athletic Association play as the maroon and gold welcomes Delaware to Rudd Field for its league opener on Sept. 11. Following that match, Elon hits the road for three contests, traveling to High Point (Sept. 15), College of Charleston (Sept. 18) and Radford (Sept. 22). High Point earned a berth to the 2020 NCAA Tournament this past season as the Big South tournament champion.
 
"The CAA returns to us playing all teams and it continues to be an exceptionally strong conference," said Reeves. "Our group will be focused on preparing to perform at our best each game."
 
The month closes with a pair of home games versus defending CAA champion James Madison on Sept. 25 and versus Campbell on Sept. 29. The Dukes won the league's tournament title for the third straight year to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
 
October features six matches overall starting with a road contest at Drexel on Oct. 2. Elon continues its road swing by returning to Durham for the second time this fall, facing Duke on Oct. 5. The last time the Phoenix and the Blue Devils met on the pitch came in 2019 with Elon coming away with a 3-2 victory at Rudd Field.
 
Elon hosts UNCW on Oct. 9, before heading to Northeastern (Oct. 16) and West Virginia (Oct. 23) for the following two weeks. The Phoenix closes out its home slate and the month hosting Hofstra on Oct. 30. A matchup at William & Mary on Nov. 6 concludes the regular season.
 
Postseason play for the CAA Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 11 for the semifinal round and Nov. 14 for the championship match in Harrisonburg, Va.
 

Elon Men's Soccer 2021 Fall Schedule
Day	Date	Opponent	Location	Time
Sunday	Aug. 15	Gardner-Webb (Exh.)	Elon, N.C.	5:00 p.m.
Friday	Aug. 20	UNCG (Exh.)	Elon, N.C.	7:00 p.m.
Monday	Aug. 23	Barton (Exh.)	Elon, N.C.	5:00 p.m.
Friday	Aug. 27	Merrimack	Durham, N.C.	5:00 p.m.
Monday	Aug. 30	Liberty	Elon, N.C.	7:00 p.m.
Friday	Sept. 3	UTRGV	Birmingham, Ala.	4:00 p.m.
Sunday	Sept. 5	Central Arkansas	Birmingham, Ala.	12:00 p.m.
Saturday	Sept. 11	Delaware*	Elon, N.C.	7:00 p.m.
Wednesday	Sept. 15	High Point	High Point, N.C.	7:00 p.m.
Saturday	Sept. 18	College of Charleston*	Mt. Pleasant, S.C.	2:00 p.m.
Wednesday	Sept. 22	Radford	Radford, Va.	7:00 p.m.
Saturday	Sept. 25	James Madison*	Elon, N.C.	7:00 p.m.
Wednesday	Sept. 29	Campbell	Elon, N.C.	7:00 p.m.
Saturday	Oct. 2	Drexel*	Philadelphia, Pa.	1:00 p.m.
Tuesday	Oct. 5	Duke	Durham, N.C.	7:00 p.m.
Saturday	Oct. 9	UNCW*	Elon, N.C.	7:00 p.m.
Saturday	Oct. 16	Northeastern*	Brookline, Mass.	2:00 p.m.
Saturday	Oct. 23	West Virginia	Morgantown, W.Va.	2:00 p.m.
Saturday	Oct. 30	Hofstra*	Elon, N.C.	7:00 p.m.
Saturday	Nov. 6	William & Mary*	Williamsburg, Va.	7:00 p.m.
Thursday-Sunday	Nov. 11-14	CAA Championships	Harrisonburg, Va.	TBD