Ashland, WI – The Northland College men's soccer program has announced their upcoming schedule for the 2023 campaign.  The Jacks will take on opponents from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), American Rivers Conference (ARC), Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), in addition to their fourteen Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). 

The schedule features multiple teams that were a part of the NCAA National Tournament last year, highlighted by UW-Eau Claire who advanced to the second round before losing in penalties. 

New to this year's schedule is perennial ARC powerhouse Loras College, who's only one year removed from advancing to the second round of the national tournament.  The Jacks open up with a new opponent, Carleton College, who have regularly been at the top of the MIAC and most recently won it in 2021. 

The final new opponent for the Jacks is Hamline University from the MIAC. 

"This is easily our strongest schedule in my time here," commented fifth year Head Coach Greg Gilmore.  "Last season we tried to really challenge ourselves in non-conference play, and while the results weren't what we wanted, I think we all saw the benefits of the experience with our results in league play.  The biggest change for this upcoming season is that now we have higher expectations in these matches, and we want to not just compete, but we want to get some results as well."

The Jacks open the season at Carleton on Friday, September 1^st.  Their first UMAC game is on the road on Wednesday, September 13^th. 

Friday, September 8^th is Youth Soccer night for both a men's and women's doubleheader with Maranatha Baptist University.  Local youth teams will get to compete at halftime and join the players for the pre-game introduction.  Kickoff is scheduled for 4PM for the women's program and 6PM for the men's program. 

The Jacks are looking to make their fifth straight UMAC post-season appearance after losing in the semifinals in 2022 by a score of 2-1 against Bethany Lutheran.  The Jacks finished the regular season last year with a record of 8-7-5 and went 7-3-4 in the UMAC.