Joliet, Ill. -- While students get geared up with classes starting, the University of St. Francis will see three of its teams get underway this week.
Men's Soccer (0-0-0): Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Dan Cross, the Saints are poised for a big 2021 season after making a CCAC tournament appearance in the spring, culminating a 7-6-2 season. There are three matches on the slate for Cross's squad this week, with two coming at Joliet Memorial Stadium. The season begins on the road Tuesday evening at Taylor University. The two sides last met in 2019, where they played to a 0-0 draw. USF then hosts Mount Mercy on Thursday evening in the home opener. St. Francis will look to make it two straight wins over Mount Mercy, with the last win in the series coming in August of 2019. The busy opening week comes to a close on Saturday afternoon against Goshen. This is a young series between the two schools. USF is looking for the first win in three tries over Goshen, however, this will be the first trip for the Maple Leafs to Joliet.
Women's Soccer (0-0-0): Under the direction of second-year head coach Al Palar, the Saints will look to build on the spring season. The 2021 season gets underway on Tuesday evening when Huntington University comes to Joliet Memorial Stadium. The two sides have only met once all-time, with Huntington taking that matchup 3-2 back in 2017. USF then finishes up the two-match opening week on Saturday afternoon in Howell, Michigan against Cleary University. This will be the first time in the series that USF will be making the trip to Michigan. The two teams have each won once in the all-time series, with St. Francis winning 2-1 in 2017 and Cleary taking a 2-1 decision in 2019.
Volleyball (0-0): Head coach Cara Currier enters her 20th season at the helm of the St. Francis Volleyball program in 2021. Her team looks to build off of a 9-6 CCAC record and a CCAC tournament quarterfinal appearance last spring. They open the season with four matches at the Amber McClure Fayerweather Memorial Tournament, hosted by Taylor University. The tournament begins on Friday morning for USF, when they lace it up against Indiana Wesleyan University for the first time since 2018. The Saints then take on the host Taylor University later that evening. Taylor comes into the weekend with a 3-1 record after starting the season in Florida. USF will open their Saturday bright and early against St. Mary of the Woods. They then close the tournament later that afternoon against Mount Vernon Nazarene University, which sports a 3-1 record heading into the week.
As always you can find the live links to all events at gofightingsaints.com/coverage. You can also keep up with everything USF Athletics on Twitter and Instagram @USFSaints.
