TicketsJune 21, 2012
CINCINNATI - Seven NCAA Tournament qualifiers highlight the University of Cincinnati men's soccer 2012 schedule, announced today by head coach Hylton Dayes.
"We are excited for the upcoming fall season," said Dayes. "We have a very challenging non-conference schedule which should prepare us well for the BIG EAST. Opening up with road games against national power Indiana and Bradley, both Sweet 16 participants last fall will definitely give us an early read on where we are as a team."
UC will host nine home games this fall, including BIG EAST Conference contests against 2011 NCAA Elite Eight squads Louisville and USF, and NCAA participant Rutgers.
Cincinnati opens its campaign with a pair of exhibition contests, welcoming Eastern Illinois on Aug. 12, followed by a road trip to Michigan (Aug. 18) to wrap up exhibition play.
UC opens its regular season at the Saint Louis Tournament, where it will play a pair of contests against national power Indiana (Aug. 24) and Drake (Aug. 26).
Its home opener will be against St. Francis (Pa.) on Aug. 30 before traveling across town to battle rival Xavier on Sept. 2.
The following weekend, the Bearcats travel to Evansville, Ind., to compete in the ProRehab Aces Classic, where it will play Sweet 16 qualifier Bradley (Sept. 7) and host Evansville (Sept. 9).
Cincinnati hosts two matches against Towson (Sept. 14) and Gardner Webb (Sept. 16) before dipping into BIG EAST play on Sept. 22 at Pittsburgh. Cincinnati returns home for a midweek game against Cleveland State on Sept. 26 before continuing its conference slate against Syracuse (Sept. 19) and USF (Oct. 3) at Gettler Stadium.
"The BIG EAST will again be one of the top conferences in the country," noted Dayes. "Our division is very tough with four NCAA tournament teams from last year. We will have to play well to secure results and this starts at home. Our home schedule, which includes NCAA participants Louisville, South Florida and Rutgers, will provide our fans with some top-class soccer."
The Bearcats travel to defending BIG EAST Tournament champion St. John's on Oct. 6 before closing out the nonconference schedule against Western Michigan at home on Oct. 10.
UC travels for its last two road games of the season on Oct. 13, at Villanova, and Oct. 17, at DePaul, before returning home to conclude its regular season against Rutgers (Oct. 20) and longtime rival Louisville on Oct. 27.
The 2012 BIG EAST Tournament gets underway on campus sites on Oct. 31, with the semifinals and final taking place on Nov. 9 and Nov. 11, respectively, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.
A youthful corps returns for the Bearcats in 2012, including 2011 BIG EAST all-Freshman Team member forward Cole DeNormandie. DeNormandie leads four Bearcats who were recognized among the Top 100 freshman by TopDrawerSoccer.com in 2011: Matt Remaley, Will Diebold, and Emmanuel Appiah. Fifth-year senior midfielder Matt Bahner, who missed the entire 2011 season with a leg injury, looks to return to his 2010 second-team all-BIG EAST form.
"Our goals have always been to compete for the Red Division championship and qualify for the NCAA tournament," Dayes said. "I think this schedule provides us with the opportunity to accomplish these goals."