TOWSON, Md. - The Towson University men's soccer team will open its 2011 schedule on Friday, August 26 when the Tigers travel to the University of New Mexico to face the Lobos, it has been announced by Coach Frank Olszewski.
The Lobos, who earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, are one of four Tiger opponents that advanced to the NCAA field.
"I am excited to announce a very challenging schedule for 2011," Coach Olszewski says. "We all know how competitive the CAA, which is one of the top conferences in the country, will be and with an opening game in Albuquerque against the University of New Mexico, which is a very strong, nationally ranked, and NCAA caliber team, we will begin our preparations. As a young, motivated, and grounded squad, we can't wait to get started."
The Tigers will open their home slate on Thursday, September 1 against Mount St. Mary's at 5 p.m. Following a visit to UMBC, which won the America East title and earned a first round bye in the NCAA Tournament last year, the Tigers return to the Towson Center Soccer Complex to host Saint Joseph's on September 11 at 5 p.m.
After visiting Loyola and Longwood, the Tigers will welcome Albany to the Towson Center Soccer Complex on September 20 for a 4 p.m. non-conference match-up against the Great Danes.
The Tigers will open their Colonial Athletic Association schedule on September 24 when they visit James Madison before returning home to host defending CAA champion William & Mary on October 1 and Hofstra on October 5.
A quick two-game road trip to Drexel (October 8) and George Mason (October 12) for the Tigers is followed by a home game against Old Dominion on October 15. The Monarchs earned an at-large berth into last year's NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers will visit Northeastern on October 19 before returning home for a two-game homestand against UNC Wilmington (October 22) and Delaware (October 25).
On October 30, the Tigers will travel to Virginia Commonwealth for their final regular season road game before hosting Georgia State on Senior Day on November 5 at 1 p.m.
The CAA Tournament will return to a six-team field for the 2011 season and the regular season champion will host all five games in the tournament. A pair of quarter-final games will be played on Thursday, November 10 before the semi-finals take place on November 11. The CAA Championship Game will be played on Sunday, November 13 with the winner receiving the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
