KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its changes to the 2020 women's soccer schedule Wednesday afternoon.

Association members will play a total of 14 matches starting September 13, to correspond with changes to maximum playing seasons passed by the NCAA Division II Presidents Council for the upcoming 2020-21 athletics season.

Each team will open the season with two pod contests against MIAA programs that do not count toward the Association standings. The RiverHawks will open the season at Central Oklahoma in a re-match of the 2019 MIAA Championship contest on September 11 or 13. A week later, NSU will host Rogers State on September 18 or 20 in the RiverHawks' home opener.  

Teams will play 11 scheduled contests before ending the regular season with a flex week on November 8. The top eight teams in the MIAA standings will face off in a tournament-style format with the higher seed hosting each match. Teams in the bottom four in the standings will be matched up on their geographic proximity for their season finale. The highest remaining seed will host the MIAA Tournament out of the top eight teams on November 13 and 15.

The RiverHawks finished runner-up in 2019 in the overall MIAA standings and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, finishing with a 14-4-4 overall mark.

Northeastern State 2020 Women's Soccer Schedule
September 11 or 13 – at Central Oklahoma
September 18 or 20 – Rogers State
September 25 – at Newman
September 27 – Central Oklahoma
October 2 – at Central Missouri
October 4 – at Missouri Southern
October 9 – at Washburn
October 11 – at Emporia State
October 16 – Missouri Western
October 18 – Northwest Missouri
October 23 – Nebraska-Kearney
October 25 – Fort Hays State
October 30 or November 1 – at Rogers State
November 8 - FLEX WEEK: #1 vs. #8, #2 vs. #7, #3 vs. #6, #4 vs. #5. Four winning teams participate in championship hosted by the highest remaining seed. #9, #10, #11 and #12 will be matched up based on geographic proximity