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Tulsa Men's Soccer Team Announces 2011 Schedule
5/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
May 9, 2011
Tulsa, Oklahoma -
Defending National Champion Akron is one of five nationally-ranked teams highlighting the Tulsa men's soccer schedule in 2011, it was announced today. The Hurricane schedule includes 11 teams that posted double-digit victories a year ago and seven NCAA Tournament teams from 2010. Tulsa will close out the home season by hosting the 2011 Conference USA Men's Soccer Championship in November.
Tulsa finished the 2010 season ranked 28th nationally with an overall 12-7-2 record. For the fourth-straight year the Hurricane played in the C-USA Championship game.
The Golden Hurricane will begin the season at home, hosting SIU-Edwardsville on Aug. 27th at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium. The Cougars finished the 2010 season with a 10-5-4 record, falling in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship in penalty kicks. This will be the fifth meeting between the two teams on the soccer pitch, with SIUE owning a 3-1 advantage in the series, but it was TU that picked up a 1-0 win last season at home.
Tulsa will take to the road to face annual-foe Missouri State on Sept. 1st in Springfield, Mo. The Hurricane edged out a 2-1 win in double-overtime last year to take a 25-11-2 lead in the series. TU will then return home to host Loyola Marymount, which netted a 12-6-2 mark in 2010, on Sept. 4th. This will be just the third meeting with the Lions, as Tulsa has a 1-0-1 advantage in the series.
Up next for the Hurricane is the annual Hurricane Classic, featuring four NCAA Tournament teams - Connecticut, Oakland, SMU and Tulsa. TU will take on UCONN, which posted a 12-3-6 record and concluded the year ranked at No. 8 in both the Soccer America and Soccer Times polls, on Sept. 9th, and two days later will face Summit League Champion Oakland. Tulsa and the then-ranked No. 2 Huskies have met once, with the game ending in 1-1 double-overtime tie in Storrs, Conn., while Oakland, ranked No. 30 at the time, earned a 1-0 win at the SMU Classic. Both previous meetings were played in 2008.
The Golden Hurricane will travel to Dallas for the annual SMU Classic on Sept. 16th and 18th, facing Washington and Dartmouth, respectively. This will be the inaugural meeting with both the Huskies, which recorded 11 wins last year, and the Big Green, which posted 12 wins and advanced to the NCAA Tournament third round a year ago.
National Champion Akron comes to town on Sept. 24th, marking the fifth meeting between the two teams. The Zips posted a 22-1-2 mark in 2010, captured the NCAA Championship crown and finished the season ranked at No. 1 by Soccer America. Akron has won all five previous match-ups against the Hurricane.
Tulsa opens C-USA action at South Carolina on Sept. 30th. The Gamecocks claimed the league tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament third round, posted a 13-7-2 overall record, and closed out the season ranked No. 18 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and Top Drawer Soccer. USC evened up the all-time series with two wins last season for an even 4-4-2 mark in the previous 10 meetings.
SMU comes to Tulsa on Oct. 5th and UW-Green Bay will close out the non-conference slate on Oct. 8th. The Mustangs tabbed a 16-2-2 overall mark, earned the C-USA regular season title, advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals and concluded the season ranked No. 5 by Soccer America. The Phoenix were 13-4-2 and fell in the Horizon League Championship game in 2010.
TU will take on Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. on Oct. 12th, and then return home to host Memphis on Oct. 16th and FIU on Oct. 19th. The Golden Hurricane has a 5-4-1 advantage in the series with the Wildcats, a 3-3-1 series record with the Tigers and a 7-0-1 lead against the Panthers.
Tulsa faces UCF on Oct. 22nd in Orlando and Marshall on Oct. 29th in Huntington, W.Va., before returning home to close out the regular season against UAB on Nov. 4th. The Knights posted a 12-5-2 mark, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finished the season ranked No. 24 by Top Drawer Soccer. TU boasts a 6-0-1 lead in the series with UCF, a 6-1-1 mark against the Thundering Herd and an 8-1-1 advantage over the Blazers.
Tulsa will host the 2011 Conference USA Men's Soccer Championships at the Hurricane Soccer Stadium on Nov. 9-13, featuring the top six teams from the league.
