2011 USC Upstate Men's Soccer Schedule

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Road matches at Wofford and Furman as well as a full conference slate highlight the 2011 USC Upstate men's soccer schedule, released today by head coach Greg Hooks.

"Our schedule is a good one for us at this time," said Hooks.  "Given the strength of the south region in men's soccer, every team on our schedule is good. There are a lot of teams on the schedule that have advanced to the NCAA tournament within the last few years, which is indicative of the parity within this region. I hope that our players are able to rise to the occasion and be able to compete with these teams. I am confident that we will be successful."

The Spartans will participate in a pair of scrimmages before officially opening the fifth season of Division I play.  Upstate will travel to Spartanburg Methodist on Aug. 17 and will follow with its second and final scrimmage at Gardner-Webb on Aug. 27.

The men's soccer team will begin regular-season play on Aug. 29 when the Spartans make the short trek down Pine Street to face Wofford.  Following the match with the Terriers, Upstate will travel to Clinton, S.C. to face Presbyterian College (Sept. 1) before its home opener against Southern Wesleyan (Sept. 5).

The Spartans will continue its South Carolina tour as they travel to Conway, S.C., for the Coastal Carolina Classic.  They will face 2010 Colonial Athletic Association regular-season runner-up Virginia Commonwealth on Sept. 9 before closing out the even with George Washington on Sept. 11.

Upstate will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a home match against Virginia Military Institute on Sept. 18, followed by a road match at 2010 SoCon Regular-Season Champion Furman on Sept. 27.

The Spartans will open conference play on Sept. 30, when they host Lipscomb at County University Soccer Stadium.  Upstate will host Belmont two days later to close out the first weekend of league play.

The first road trip away from the Carolinas will take place when the squad travels to Jacksonville, Fla., for matches at Jacksonville (Oct. 7) and North Florida (Oct. 9).  The Spartans will host a pair of conference foes from the sunshine state a week later as Florida Gulf Coast (Oct. 14) and Stetson (Oct. 16) make the trek to Spartanburg for the final matches of the regular-season at County University Soccer Stadium.

Upstate will wrap-up the 2011 schedule with road trips to Mercer (Oct. 19) and ETSU (Oct. 29). 

The 2011 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament will begin on Nov. 5, with the top six squads making the post-season event.  In the first round, No. 3 will host No. 6, while No. 4 will host No. 5.  The remaining four teams will travel to the regular-season champion for the semifinals (Nov. 10) and finals (Nov. 12).