By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – Fresh off the program’s fifth Ohio Valley Conference championship last season, the University of Tennessee at Martin soccer program has unveiled its 2022 schedule which features a pair of exhibitions and 16 regular season matchups.
The Skyhawks are coming off a banner season in 2021 in which the squad posted an 11-6-1 overall mark while going 6-2 in the OVC. The regular season championship joined other title campaigns of 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2018 while UT Martin garnered several postseason honors – including boasting the league’s top coach, defensive player and freshman.
Under the direction of three-time OVC Coach of the Year Phil McNamara for the 13th season, the Skyhawks will play two exhibition contests before facing eight non-conference opponents and squaring off against a new-look league slate.
UT Martin will travel to Memphis on Wednesday, August 10 for its first dress rehearsal before capping off its exhibition slate later that week on the road at Arkansas State on Saturday, Aug. 13.
The Skyhawks make their home debut when playing host to Southeastern Conference foe Kentucky on Sunday, Aug. 21. The squad will then load up and travel east for a pair of contests in North Carolina beginning with a road matchup at Appalachian State on Thursday, Aug. 25 before playing Western Carolina on Saturday, Aug. 27.
The squad will matchup against two familiar foes for their next two contests with a home meeting against former OVC member Austin Peay on Wednesday, Aug. 31 before playing another former league rival at Murray State on Sunday Sept. 4. The Skyhawks then cap off non-conference play with three straight home matches against Indiana State (Sept. 8), Florida Atlantic (Sept. 10) and Alabama A&M (Sept. 18).
OVC play will open against a new member with a road matchup against Little Rock on Thursday, Sept. 22. The Skyhawks will then return home for three consecutive matchups against Morehead State (Sept. 25), Tennessee Tech (Oct. 2) and Lindenwood (Oct. 2) to reach the halfway point of the league schedule.
The back half of the conference slate will feature three straight road matchups at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 9), Southern Indiana (Oct. 16) and SIUE (Oct. 20) to wrap up the away portion of the schedule. The Skyhawks then play their regular season finale at home against Southeast Missouri on Sunday, Oct. 23.
The 2022 OVC Championship will feature an eight-team field and will begin on Oct. 28 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. 30. 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 and final on Nov. 5 with the championship held on Sunday, Nov. 6.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information