Villanova University

July 23, 2012

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Nine regular season home dates and a potent lineup of BIG EAST foes highlight the 2012 men's soccer schedule announced today. Villanova will host nine contests at its West Campus Soccer Complex, beginning with an Aug. 28 match against Stony Brook at 4:00 p.m. It will also play three games in Philadelphia on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.

"With the return of a very experienced team, we believe our 2012 schedule is well-balanced and will truly prepare us for post-season play," stated head coach Tom Carlin, who begins his fifth season at the helm in August. "The schedule is highlighted by six teams that participated in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Additionally, we'll have the opportunity to maintain and build upon local rivalry matches, which are always fun and exciting."

Villanova returns 10 starters from a 2012 unit that defeated a pair of Top 20 teams on the road, Notre Dame and USF, to reach the BIG EAST semifinals at Red Bull Arena in November. Among the returning stalwarts are central back Kyle McCarthy, midfielder Kyle Soroka, and leading scorer Dylan Renna.

The Wildcats will face Hartford (Sept. 7) and Air Force (Sept. 9) at Penn Park at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia before visiting Penn (Sept. 14) and hosting Princeton (Sept. 16) back at the West Campus Soccer Complex. Then come home dates against Soccer Six rivals LaSalle (Sept. 20) and Temple (Sept. 25) before BIG EAST action begins at home on Sept. 29 against USF, which bounced back from its BIG EAST playoff loss to VU to reach the NCAA quarterfinal.

Villanova will wrap up the regular season at noon on Oct. 27 against Pittsburgh as part of the University's Homecoming Day celebration.

"What's unique about this schedule is that we'll have nine home matches and three more games in Philadelphia, allowing us to further establish a home-field advantage and giving our fan base more chances to see us in action," noted Carlin.

The full schedule, including pre-season matches, looks like this:

PRE-SEASON SCRIMMAGES

August

Mon. 13 at Drexel 7:00 p.m.

Sat. 18 vs. Georgetown at Caravel Academy

REGULAR SEASON

August

Fri. 24 at Manhattan 7:30 p.m.

Tues. 28 Stony Brook 4:00 p.m.

September

Sat 1 at Colgate 7:00 p.m.

Fri 7 vs. Hartford -1 7:00 p.m.

Sun. 9 vs. Air Force -1 1:00 p.m.

Fri. 14 at Penn 7:30 p.m.

Sun. 16 Princeton 1:00 p.m.

Thur. 20 LaSalle 4:00 p.m.

Tues. 25 Temple 4:00 p.m.

Sat. 29 USF 1:00 p.m.

October

Wed. 3 at St. John's 7:30 p.m.

Sat. 6 at DePaul 2:00 p.m.

Tues. 9 Lafayette 3:00 p.m.

Sat. 13 Cincinnati 1:00 p.m.

Wed. 17 Syracuse 3:00 p.m.

Sat. 20 at Louisville 7:00 p.m.

Wed. 24 at Rutgers 7:00 p.m.

Sat. 27 Pittsburgh 12:00 noon *

1- Game played at Penn Park at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.