It’s official: Fall has arrived. Or at least the sports that come with the season have.
Fitchburg State will open up the 2019-20 athletic year Friday night with a pair of contests at Elliot Field and a game on the road. With the exception of the football team (which opens on the road on Sept. 7), every fall sports program will have at least one meet or game under its belt by the time the sun sets on Saturday.
Here’s what’s going on with the Falcons this weekend.
Opening on the road
The women’s soccer team has the honor of kicking off the 2019-20 season, though the contest comes on the road. Following a 3-12-1 campaign last year, the Falcons start things off at Dean College in Franklin Friday at noon. The Falcons will play a second game at Dean on Saturday, with Colby-Sawyer squaring off with FSU in a neutral-site contest at 2:30 p.m.
The women’s soccer team will play its home opener Tuesday afternoon, hosting Becker College at 4.
Busy evening at Elliot Field
The fall season in Fitchburg gets underway at 4 p.m. Friday as the field hockey team welcomes New England College to the friendly confines of Elliot Field. It’s the same opening game for the Falcons as the 2018 season, when FSU topped NEC 5-1 and went on to a 10-10 mark overall.
Following the field hockey contest, the men’s soccer team will take the field for its inaugural contest of 2019. Elms College visits Fitchburg at 7 p.m., with the Falcons aiming to improve upon the 5-11-1 record they compiled in 2018.
Doubleheader on the court
The women’s volleyball team will start its third season at FSU on Saturday with one of its three twin bills of the season, with the lone home doubleheader on its schedule. The Falcons – 2-21 a year ago – will square off with Bay Path at 10 a.m. and will hit the hardwood to face St. Joseph of Connecticut at 2 p.m.
Road trip for runners
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams will head north to kick off the fall. The runners open the season Saturday morning at Keene State for an 11 a.m. meet.