EDWARDSVILLE – After releasing its inaugural Ohio Valley Conference schedule, SIUE men's soccer has unveiled its nonconference schedule for the 2023 season. The Cougars will play seven games as a tune-up to their first OVC season.

The Cougars will play a home exhibition with Indiana Wesleyan on August 18 as part of the SIUE Experience weekend for incoming freshmen.

The regular season kicks off on the road at Central Arkansas (Aug. 24). The Cougars will take on Butler (Aug. 27) in the first home contest.

The Cougars will battle for the Bronze Boot against Saint Louis (Sept. 2) at CITYPARK in St. Louis in a doubleheader with both schools' women's teams.

"Our non-conference slate will start us off with some really tough fixtures but a great balance of home and away matches as well as the match at CITYPARK," SIUE Head Coach Cale Wassermann said. "Playing at Korte Stadium/Bob Guelker Field is exciting, and we have some home matches this year that should really get great crowds. We love playing in front of our Cougar fans."

SIUE also will travel for games at Kansas City (Sep. 8) and Bradley (Sept. 16). The Cougars have home contests against Western Illinois (Sep. 12), who will join the OVC for men's soccer in 2024, and Webster University (Sept. 22).

The OVC schedule features five home games and five road games. The first-ever OVC men's soccer tournament will take place at SIUE's Korte Stadium on November 5, 8, and 11.

"This is an exciting time to be a part of SIUE Soccer," added Wassermann. "We have a strong team with great upperclassmen leadership along with some exciting young talent. Our whole group is so eager to get started this fall within the new OVC men's soccer conference. Our conference will provide great competition with some differing styles and geography. Once conference play begins, it will be 10 games over five weeks which will not only challenge our quality but will also really test our depth. With the conference tournament being here at the end of the season we really need to be sharp from the start of the OVC season to put ourselves in the best position possible leading into that event."

SIUE women's soccer Head Coach Derek Burton released the 2023 nonconference schedule for the Cougars Wednesday.

The Cougars are coming off three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and three straight Ohio Valley Conference Tournament titles.

SIUE's exhibition season kicks off with a pair of road contests at Evansville (Aug. 7) and Arkansas (Aug. 12).

"The fall will most definitely challenge us," said Burton. "We will be facing off against four NCAA Tournament teams from last season, three of them in a row. But iron sharpens iron as they say. And it is always nice to have a few new opponents compared to the past few seasons, so we're looking forward to that."

The schedule includes four nonconference contests at Korte Stadium, including the regular season opener against Missouri State (Aug. 17.) The Cougars also face Milwaukee (Aug. 20), Purdue Fort Wayne (Aug. 25), and SIU Carbondale (Aug. 31).

The regular season road nonconference schedule includes contests at IUPUI (Aug. 27), Saint Louis (Sept. 2), and Indiana State (Sept. 10). The Saint Louis contest will be played at CITYPARK in St. Louis, the home of St. Louis City SC of Major League Soccer.

Arkansas, Missouri State, Milwaukee, and Saint Louis all participated in the NCAA Tournament last season.

"Every season is a new journey with a new group and we are excited to get this one underway for sure," added Burton.