Aug. 23, 2012

The 26th season of Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Soccer is set to kick-off on Friday afternoon (Aug. 24), as 10 of the league's 16 teams will open their 2012 schedules against non-conference foes. Five additional league institutions will wait and open their slates on Saturday.

Temple, the lone A-10 team not in action this weekend, will kick-off its 2012 campaign on Friday, Aug. 31 against Virginia at the James Madison Tournament in Harrisonburg, Va.

The newly expanded eight-team A-10 Men's Soccer Championship will be held Nov. 8-11 at Charlotte's Transamerica Field. The 49ers will host the Championship for the second time in three years and third time overall since joining the Atlantic 10 during the 2005-06 academic year.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24
Delaware at Massachusetts | 1:00PM | Amherst, MA | Watch Live | Live Stats
UMass head coach Sam Koch opens his 22nd season in Amherst with 14 returnees and 15 newcomers. The Minutemen went 4-13-2 overall and 2-5-2 in Atlantic 10 play last season.

UMass welcomes back its top two scorers in junior Brett Canepa and sophomore Josh Schwartz. The duo combined to score five goals from the forward spot a year ago. Delaware posted its best record in school history last year, posting a 13-6-4 mark in addition to claiming its first Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship. The Blue Hens defeated Virginia and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The teams met a year ago in the season-opener at UD where the Blue Hens claimed a 3-0 victory.

Long Island at George Washington | 4:00PM | Washington, DC | Watch Live | Live Stats
The George Washington men's soccer team begins the Craig Jonesera on Friday afternoon when the Colonials host LIU Brooklyn in the 2012 season opener. Kickoff at the GW Soccer Field on the Mount Vernon Campus is set for 4 p.m.

Coach Jones, a long-time assistant and 1999 GW alumnus, took over at the helm following the retirement of the program's all-time winningest coach, George Lidster, at the end of last season's run to the Atlantic 10 championship game.

Picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, the Colonials return 14 letterwinners and six starters from last season's squad, which posted a 10-6-3 overall record and 7-2-0 conference mark to claim a share of the A-10 regular-season crown.

William & Mary vs. Butler | 5:00PM | Richmond, VA
Butler will open the 2012 men's soccer campaign on the field of an Atlantic 10 foe, but not against a conference opponent.  The Bulldogs will begin regular season play on Friday, August 24, at 5 p.m. (ET) against William & Mary in the opening match of the VCU/Nike Classic in Richmond, Va.  The four-team tournament, which includes Bucknell and host VCU, will be held at VCU's Sports Backers Stadium.

Second-year head coach Paul Snape can call on nine players who started at least half of Butler's matches last season, including a pair of juniors who started all 18 contests.  Jordan Burt has started 37 of 38 matches during his first two seasons with the Bulldogs, while Austin Oldham, who led the Bulldogs in scoring last fall, has started 30 matches.  Both were in the starting unit for every match in 2011.  

Richmond vs. James Madison | 5:00PM | Blacksburg, VA
Richmond opens its season this weekend in Virginia Tech's Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va., where the Spiders will play James Madison on Friday at 5 p.m. before meeting the host Hokies on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Richmond returns eight starters and 21 overall letterwinners from last year's squad that closed out its season with three-straight conference wins. Senior midfielder and team captain Houston Oldham will lead a relatively young but experienced squad that includes sophomore standout and 2011 A-10 All-Rookie selection Timmy Albright up front in addition to a talented group of six newcomers among who several will see significant playing time.

Ohio State at Dayton | 7:00PM | Dayton, OH | Live Stats
The Flyers open the regular season on Friday, Aug. 24 against the Ohio State Buckeyes at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free to all University of Dayton men's soccer home games.

Bucknell at VCU | 7:30PM | Richmond, VA

Hartwick at Saint Joseph's | 7:30PM | Philadelphia, PA | Watch Live | Live Stats
Under the direction of head coach Don D'Ambra, the men's soccer team kicks off the 2012 season next Friday, August 24, as the Hawks host Hartwick at Finnesey Field. Returning just two seniors, the team will be the youngest in the Atlantic 10 conference. However, with the return of 18 sophomores and juniors combined, the Hawks, under the direction of third-year head coach Don D'Ambra, will look to mesh an abundance of young talent with a solid core of experience.

Fordham at Rutgers | 8:00PM | Piscataway, NJ | Live Stats

Howard at Duquesne | 8:00PM | Pittsburgh, PA | Watch Live | Live Stats

No. 12 Indiana at Saint Louis | 8:00PM | St. Louis | Watch Live | Live Stats
Saint Louis opens its men's soccer season Friday, Aug. 24, against the No. 12 Indiana Hoosiers in the Billiken Classic. Game time at Hermann Stadium is set for 7 p.m. SLU concludes the Billiken Classic Sunday against Drake in a 3 p.m. kick-off.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25
Rhode Island at Vermont | 1:00PM | Burlington, VT | Watch Live

Denver at No. 8 Charlotte | 7:00PM | Charlotte, NC
Charlotte returns eight starters and 13 letterwinners from the historic College Cup squad. The 49ers, who captured the 2010 Atlantic 10 regular-season title, finished last season with a 16-5-4 overall record and a 6-1-2 mark in the A-10. The men's soccer team finished #2 in the final NSCAA Coaches Poll after being the first team in school history in any sport to compete in an NCAA Championship game. Head Coach Kevin Langan looks to build on the success of last season with talented squad led by 2011 Soccer America National Freshman of the Year and A-10 Rookie of the Year, Giuseppe Gentile, and 2011 All-Atlantic-10 picks Donnie Smith and Tyler Gibson.

The 49ers kickoff the 2012 regular-season with three straight home games at Transamerica Field. First, the 49ers play Denver this Saturday, August 25 at 7 pm. Charlotte then faces nationally-ranked Coastal Carolina, who are ranked 14th in the preseason Soccer America Poll, Monday, August 27 at 7 pm. Then, the 49ers round out their season-opening three-game home stand against nationally-ranked UAB, Friday, August 31 at 7 pm. This game will be a rematch of a 2011 second round NCAA Tournament game which the 49ers won 3-1 last November.

Drexel at La Salle | 7:00PM | Philadelphia, PA | Watch Live | Live Stats

St. Bonaventure at Bowling Green | 7:00PM | Bowling, Green, OH

Xavier at Northwestern | 7:00PM | Evanston, IL | Live Stats
Xavier will open the season against No. 20 Northwestern on Saturday in Evanston, Ill. Last year the Musketeers dropped a 2-0 decision against the Wildcats at the Lakeside Classic.