Indiana University East has partnered with Centerville High School (CHS) as the location for all of its men’s and women’s soccer home games. The Centerville High School soccer fields are located in the southwest corner of the CHS campus at 507 Willow Grove Road, Centerville, Indiana.

This is the Red Wolves’ first season to begin of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) competition since IU East announced the addition of the soccer programs in 2016.

IU East women’s soccer coach Shane Meridith and men’s soccer coach Steve Moore.

Jason Troutwine, vice chancellor for the Office of External Affairs, said CHS offers an amiable location for the university’s soccer events.

“This partnership provides IU East soccer programs with an excellent facility to play our home matches,” Troutwine said. “The IU East athletics program continues to grow and we are fortunate to have partners in the area who allow us to leverage their great facilities. Our partnership with CHS continues a valuable link to the community and a close connection with students who are considering collegiate athletics or higher education in the future.”

IU East has established similar partnerships in the past with Richmond High School, Seton Catholic High School and the City of Richmond Parks Department.

CHS Principal Mike McCoy said the district and IU East have developed a great relationship over the past few years.

“We are seeing more CHS students attending school there and many are also participating in athletics during their time at IU East,” McCoy said. “Centerville-Abington Community Schools appreciates the emphasis on education first and shares in IU East’s academic approaches toward the future of all the students that attend their college. IU East provides many scholarships to the students of Centerville and we look forward to continuing our partnership and advancing the educational opportunities for as many students as possible.”

Joe Griffin, athletic director at IU East, said the inaugural season will be a memorable experience for the soccer program and Red Wolves fans. The combined rosters include 50 student-athletes. “The men’s and women’s soccer programs have been an important addition to Red Wolves athletics,” Griffin said. “We are very excited to see these programs get underway after a year of preparation and recruiting. We welcome the campus and community to join us at Centerville High School and watch as the Red Wolves bring their best to compete.”

The women’s soccer team will host its first home game at 7 p.m. August 26 versus Indiana Wesleyan University. The first men’s soccer home game will be held at 4:30 p.m. on September 16 versus the University of Saint Francis (Ind.).  Prior to the men’s game, the women’s soccer team will play the Cougars at 2 p.m. on Sept. 16.

IU East students are invited to a tailgate to celebrate the inaugural men’s and women’s soccer seasons and the first home games. The Office of Campus Life will host the tailgate and provide IU East students with food, a t-shirt give-a-way, games and prizes.

With the addition of the men’s and women’s soccer programs, IU East now offers 15 NAIA varsity sports. In addition to men’s and women’s soccer, the Red Wolves currently compete in men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field. IU East offers more NAIA sports than any other IU regional campus.

Women’s soccer coach Shane Meridith said there is a buzz building on campus about the start of the season. “It’s so exciting to see new teams come together that range in students from Puerto Rico to Michigan out west to California and so on,” Meridith said. “We are super excited to be playing at Centerville High School and their tremendous soccer complex and hoping that this will infuse some serious interest and enthusiasm in the local youth soccer scenes.”

Coach Steve Moore, head coach of the men’s soccer team, said the team is looking forward to getting the season started after a year of building the team’s roster and coaching staff. “We’re really excited to get the guys here,” Moore said. “We started training August 1. Having had the recruiting process the whole last year, it’s super exciting to see the team here on campus to train and integrating into the community. We’re excited about the product we’re going to have on the field but we’re just as excited about the impact that we will be able to have on campus and within the community.”

Admission to the soccer games is free.

Schedules, live stats and updates for Red Wolves athletics are available at iueredwolves.com. Fans can also follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @iueredwolves.