Senior tri-captains Peter Paras (L), Brian McGue (M) and Andrew DiLallo (R) will look to lead the 'Cats in 2012
Men’s Soccer Schedule Features Four ACC Teams, Ohio State
6/8/2012 1:49:00 PM | Men's Soccer
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Davidson men's soccer team will face five NCAA tournament teams from last season, including defending champion North Carolina, as part of the 2012 schedule announced Friday by head coach Matt Spear.
This season will mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 NCAA Final Four College Cup and Southern Conference Championship team.
The Wildcats will continue their annual series with ACC opponents Wake Forest and Duke, hosting the Demon Deacons Oct. 2 at Alumni Stadium and traveling to Durham to face the Blue Devils on Oct. 23. Davidson will also play North Carolina for the second consecutive season, but will travel to Chapel Hill this year after earning a 1-0 victory over the second-ranked Tar Heels at Alumni Stadium in 2011. All three opponents made the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
“The games at North Carolina and Duke – plus Wake Forest at home - will be amazing opportunities to take on more excellent ACC competition,” said Spear, who enters his 12th season at the helm. “We are really fortunate to have so many perennial top-20 programs and national championship contenders so close. As usual, we have an awesome non-conference schedule, full of excellent programs and aspirational teams.”
Davidson will open the regular season at home Monday, Aug. 27 against another ACC squad, Clemson.
“Hosting a proud, talented Clemson for our opening match will be a ton of fun for our guys, but also for the student body and local fans,” said Spear.
The 'Cats will then hit the road to compete in Ohio State's Wolstein Classic to face Wright State (Aug. 31) and Ohio State (Sept. 2). The Buckeyes have appeared in the NCAA tournament eight times since 2000 and were NCAA finalists in 2007.
“The trip to Columbus will be a wonderful 'homecoming' for senior tri-captains Brian McGue and Peter Paras – and of course their families too,” said Spear. “And we always learn a lot about ourselves and have fun with these early season weekend trips.”
Davidson will return home to host its own tournament, the Davidson adidas Classic, with doubleheaders Saturday, Sept. 8 and Monday, Sept. 10. Richmond and USC Upstate will join annual participant Appalachian State.
East Tennessee State will visit Alumni Stadium on Sept. 15, and the 'Cats will compete in two more non-conference games at UNC (Sept. 18) and at Presbyterian (Sept. 21) before hosting defending SoCon regular season champion UNCG in the conference opener on Tuesday, Sept. 25.
“The first half of the season also doubles as our preparation mode for the Southern Conference matches,” said Spear. “As usual, each SoCon match will be up for grabs because there is a lot of parity across all eight teams. Two of our goals for this season are to win first place in the regular season and then win the tournament championship.”
SoCon tournament champion Elon will then visit Alumni Stadium Friday, Sept. 28., and Wake Forest (Oct. 2) and Georgia Southern (Oct. 6) will conclude the 'Cats home slate. Members of the 1992 College Cup team will return for the homecoming weekend Georgia Southern match and will be honored on the field at halftime. The current team's seniors and tri-captains, McGue, Paras and Andrew DiLallo, will also be honored prior to the match.
“It will be awesome to bring back the amazing guys that were part of that magical '92 season,” said Spear, who was one of the team's captains. “It has been a milestone achievement for our program and Davidson Athletics. Lots of moving memories and deep remaining relationships of course for me too.”
Davidson will play its last five matches on the road, taking on Wofford (Oct. 13), NCAA at-large selection Furman (Oct. 16), College of Charleston (Oct. 20), Duke (Oct. 23) and Appalachian State (Oct. 27).
The 'Cats will look to host a SoCon quarterfinal match, as the top-four seeds in the eight-team league get to host their first-round tournament games on Nov. 3. The semifinal and final matches will take place Nov. 8 and 10, respectively, in WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
The facility, which opened in 2002 and has hosted numerous collegiate soccer tournaments, five NCAA Women's College Cups, three NCAA Men's College Cups, and international friendlies, boasts a FIFA international regulation size field and a permanent seating capacity of 10,000.
The championship match will be contested on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. with a live broadcast on ESPN3.
All dates and times are tentative and subject to change.
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