Four NCAA Tournament Teams Highlight 2009 University of Albany Men's Soccer Schedule - UAlbany Sports

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Albany, N.Y. – University at Albany Vice President and Director of Athletics Lee McElroy announced on Wednesday, March 18 the school’s men’s soccer schedule for the 2009 season. The Great Danes will play a 17-match schedule, which includes four teams that advanced to last year’s NCAA Tournament.

UAlbany’s nine-game non-conference slate features six teams that advanced to their conference championship match and three that won a league title to clinch an NCAA automatic berth. In addition, each of the nine squads posted a winning percentage of .500 or better last year.

The Great Danes open the fall at home against Northeastern on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 4 p.m. The Huskies posted a record of 7-5-9 last year, falling to George Mason, 1-0, in the Colonial Athletic Association championship match.

The following weekend, UAlbany will compete in a tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina along with Virginia Commonwealth. The Great Danes will face VCU on Sept. 4 and Coast Carolina, the runner-up team in the Big South Conference after suffering a double-overtime defeat in the league title match, on Sept. 6.

The Great Danes will return home for a pair of games against two squads that competed in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. UAlbany will host Colgate of the Patriot League on Friday, Sept. 11 and Fairfield of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference on Sunday, Sept. 13. Both games are slated to kick off at 4 p.m.

One week later, the squad will head to Philadelphia for a tournament co-hosted by Pennsylvania and Temple. The Quakers, who won the Ivy League crown last season, will host the Great Danes on Friday, Sept. 18. UAlbany will close out the tournament at Temple on Sunday, Sept. 20.

The non-conference slate concludes with away matches at crosstown-rival Siena on Wednesday, Sept. 23 and Holy Cross on Tuesday, Sept. 29. The Crusaders fell to Colgate in the Patriot League championship final last year.

UAlbany opens up America East Conference play against Hartford on Saturday, Oct. 3. Conference opponents New Hampshire, Maine and Boston University, which advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, will also visit Varsity Field. The Great Danes will match up against Binghamton, Vermont, Stony Brook and UMBC on the road.

Head coach Johan Aarnio enters his 10th season at the helm of the Great Dane program. He will oversee a club which returns five starters, headlined by Claudio Dantas, who was named the program’s first America East striker of the year. Last year’s squad finished 12-4-2 overall, which matched a Division I program record set in 2004. The team’s nine-win improvement tied for third in the nation. In addition, the Great Danes’ seven-game unbeaten streak before suffering a 1-0 double overtime loss to Binghamton in the semifinal round of the conference tournament was a program standard in the club’s Division I history.

2009 University at Albany Men’s Soccer Schedule

September – 1 (Tue.), Northeastern, 4:00; 4 (Fri.), vs. Virginia Commonwealth^, 7:00; 6 (Sun.), at Coastal Carolina^, 2:30; 11 (Fri.), Colgate, 4:00; 13 (Sun.), Fairfield, 4:00; 18 (Fri.), at Pennsylvania#, 7:30; 20 (Sun.), at Temple#, 1:00; 23 (Wed.) at Siena, 4:00; 29 (Tue.) at Holy Cross, 7:00.

October – 3 (Sat.), Hartford*, 1:00; 7 (Wed.), at Binghamton*, 7:00; 14 (Wed.), at Vermont*, 4:00; 17 (Sat.) at Stony Brook*, 7:00; 21 (Wed.) New Hampshire*, 2:00; 24 (Sat.) at UMBC*, 1:00; 28 (Wed.) Maine*, 2:00; 31 (Sat.) Boston University*, 1:00.

*America East Conference Opponent
^Coastal Carolina Tournament
#Pennsylvania/Temple Tournament