North Carolina State University Athletics
Men's Soccer Announces 2012 Slate
5/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
May 7, 2012
Raleigh, N.C. -
2012 NC State Men’s Soccer Schedule
Second-year head coach Kelly Findley announced the Pack’s 2012 schedule Monday afternoon. NC State will face a total of eight teams that went to the NCAA Tournament last season, and 15 of the Pack’s 19 opponents went at least .500 a season ago.
“The ACC is the toughest conference in the country, and with our strong out of conference schedule, we will be well prepared for the challenge of the NCAA tournament,” said Findley.
The ACC sent six of its nine teams to the NCAA Tournament last season, with five of those six advancing past the first round. The Pack will have home contests against ACC foes: Maryland (Sept. 14), Duke (Oct. 5), North Carolina (Oct. 26), and Virginia (Nov. 1).
The Pack’s non-conference schedule includes games against 11 teams, with eight of those squads posting winning records last season (those eight teams went a combined 80-57-27 last year). Included in the non-conference schedule are the Big South Champion (Liberty), the CAA Champion (Delaware), the Big South runner-up (Gardner-Webb) and the SoCon runner-up (UNC Greensboro).
The Pack opens its 2012 slate with an exhibition contest at UNC Wilmington on Aug. 18.
The regular season opens Aug. 24 at Liberty, and the Pack’s first home contest will be Sunday, Aug. 26 against Mercer.
The ACC Championship begins Nov. 5 with quarterfinal games at designated home sites, while the semifinals and finals will be in Germantown, Md.
The NCAA Tournament will begin Nov. 15, with this year’s College Cup taking place Dec. 7-9 at Hoover, Ala.
"We have a very strong schedule but our focus is on what we do as a team and how we play," said Finley. "Our goal is to play to a high standard in every match regardless of venue, opponent or weather. Ultimately we know focusing on playing to a standard, game in and game out, will help us reach our expectations for 2012."
