Dartmouth Men's Soccer Releases 2011 Schedule

2011 Men's Soccer Schedule

HANOVER, N.H. - Fresh off its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament and a trip to the Sweet 16, men's soccer coach Jeff Cook has assembled an impressive schedule for 2011.

Dartmouth will take on eight teams that advanced to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, including three teams that advanced to the round of 16 or further. The Big Green is coming off one of its best seasons ever, advancing to the Sweet 16 itself for the second time in the past three years. Through it all, Dartmouth will be on the hunt for a ninth Ivy League Championship and a 14th bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"Our 2011 schedule is on paper, one of the most challenging that we have faced in recent seasons," said Cook, who enters his 11th season at the helm. "Eight of our regular season opponents appeared in last season's NCAA Tournament and we will face five of those teams within our first six games. Throughout the season we will be challenged by our regional rivals, these NCAA-level teams and our Ivy League rivals. We are proud to be a part of a league that continues to improve and without doubt is one of the top five conferences in the country for men's soccer."

After a trip to Holy Cross to start the season on Sept. 2, Dartmouth kicks off the home portion of its schedule with a bang, hosting regional rival Boston College on Sept. 4. Less than a week later, a star-studded field descends upon Hanover for the Dartmouth Classic, which features four NCAA Tournament teams. The Big Green will play South Carolina, which reached the Sweet 16, and South Florida in the event, while Bradley rounds out the field.

Since its opening in 2007, Dartmouth boasts a staggering 27-5-3 home record on Burnham Field, only once losing more than one game in a season on its home pitch, and consistently hosting crowds of more than 1,000 fans. In 2011, Dartmouth plays nine of its 17 games at home.

The Big Green ventures to Texas the following weekend for the SMU Invitational, taking on the host Mustangs, coming in off a trip to the 2010 NCAA Elite Eight, and Tulsa, which advanced to the NCAA second round last fall.

Dartmouth is back at Burnham for another three-game homestand to take on UMass on Sept. 24, defending Ivy Champs Princeton on Oct. 1 and Vermont on Oct. 4. Then it's on the road to face off against Yale on Oct. 8 and at Ivy rival Penn on Oct. 15.

The team will return home to host Columbia for Homecoming on Oct. 22 before taking on Colgate in a midweek tilt on Wednesday, Oct. 25. Dartmouth must play on the road late in the season with a trip to Harvard on Oct. 29, a visit to instate rival UNH on Nov. 1 and the traditional regular season finale at Ivy rival Brown on Nov. 12. Dartmouth's final home game is the previous week against Cornell on Nov. 5.

The 2011 NCAA Tournament begins on Nov. 17 and runs through the College Cup, Dec. 9-11 at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala.