MANHATTAN – Kansas State soccer, entering its sixth season in 2021, will play a 20-match schedule including two exhibition matches and a nine-match Big 12 slate. Among the 20 matches, K-State will play nine matches at Buser Family Park including its first visit by a Big Ten opponent.
“Our 2021 schedule will be exciting for both our players and fans,” said head coach Mike Dibbini about the slate. “We have the opportunity to play several opponents in our non-conference schedule that we have not faced before. It’s also nice adding a few Big Ten opponents on our schedule. The 2021 schedule has a really good balance of different types of playing styles which will allow us to keep growing and prepare us for the gauntlet of the Big 12.”
K-State opens its 2021 schedule with a pair of exhibition matches. The Wildcats will travel to Brookings, South Dakota, to face South Dakota State on Aug. 12, at 6 p.m. K-State’s final exhibition match will be on Aug. 15, at 1 p.m., against Wyoming at Buser Family Park.
Kansas State begins its 2021 non-conference schedule with a pair of home matches in the opening weekend of the season. The Wildcats will host Weber State on Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. This will be the first meeting between the schools.
The Wildcats will cap the first weekend of the season with a match against Omaha on Aug. 22, at 1 p.m. K-State leads the series with the Mavericks, 2-0-1, with the last meeting coming on Aug. 25, 2019, in Omaha.
K-State will then play its next five matches away from Manhattan, including the program’s first-ever neutral site match. The Wildcats will travel to Clarksville, Tennessee, to face Austin Peay on Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. K-State will remain in Clarksville to face North Alabama in a neutral site match at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field on Aug. 29, at 1 p.m.
The road trip continues to the state of Colorado, as K-State will face 2021 NCAA College Cup participant Denver on Sept. 2, at 8 p.m. (CT). The Wildcats will then travel north to face Colorado State in Fort Collins on Sept. 5, at 1 p.m. (CT). This will be the second meeting between the schools, as the Wildcats downed the Rams with a 3-2 overtime win on Sept. 17, 2017.
K-State finalizes the five-match road trip with the first of two matches against Big Ten foes. The Wildcats visit West Lafayette, Indiana, to face Purdue on Sept. 9, at 6 p.m. (CT).
The Wildcats return to Buser Family Park to begin a three-match home stand on Sept. 12, against Indiana at 7 p.m. This will be the second meeting in the series between the schools, as the teams played to a 0-0 draw in Bloomington on Sept. 9, 2018.
K-State ends its nine-match non-conference schedule on Sunday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m., as K-State hosts UTRGV.
Kansas State starts its nine-match Big 12 schedule on Sept. 23, at 7 p.m., as the Wildcats host Texas.
The Wildcats will play its next two matches on the road, as K-State travels to Lubbock, Texas, to face Texas Tech on Sept. 26, at 1 p.m. The road trip concludes with the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at Kansas on Sept. 30, at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats will host a pair of matches on the weekend of Oct. 7. K-State welcomes in West Virginia on Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. The weekend concludes with a visit from Baylor on Oct. 10, at 1 p.m.
K-State will end its Big 12 road schedule with a three-match trip. The Wildcats will begin the road trip with a two-match swing through the state of Oklahoma. Kansas State will face Oklahoma State on Oct. 14, at 7 p.m., and end the weekend at Oklahoma on Oct. 17, at 1 p.m.
The road slate concludes with a trip to Fort Worth, Texas, to face 2020 Big 12 champion TCU on Oct. 22, at 7 p.m.
K-State’s home schedule ends with a visit from Iowa State on Oct. 28, at 7 p.m.
The 2021 Big 12 Championship opens with quarterfinal round matches on Oct. 31, while the semifinals are set for Nov. 4. The Championship final takes place on Nov. 7. This year’s Championship will be held at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex in Round Rock, Texas.
K-State returns 18 letter winners and 85 percent of the goal scorers from 2020 including Brookelynn Entz, who was a 2020 MAC Hermann Trophy candidate and a 2020 All-Big 12 First Team selection. The Wildcats also welcome in 14 newcomers for the 2021 season.
The broadcast schedule for the 2021 season will be announced on a later date.
– kstatesports.com –