May 26, 2009

Stony Brook, N.Y. - A match at Final Four participant St. John's and home games against Hofstra and Seton Hall as well as a challenging America East slate highlight the 2009 Stony Brook men's soccer schedule, as announced by head coach Cesar Markovic on Tuesday.

"We certainly have an interesting schedule this year," Markovic said. "We play five local teams so our players will have a familiarity with each other. We're excited to play St. John's for the first time in school history and continue our great rivalry with Hofstra. We've never hosted a team like the caliber of Seton Hall at LaValle Stadium. In terms of our America East schedule, the fact that it has an RPI of six says a lot about how good the conference has become."

For the first time since 2005, the Seawolves open the season at home when they face Hofstra on September 1. Following games at Harvard (Sept. 4) and Bryant (Sept. 6), the Seawolves face St. John's in Queens on September 11. "St. John's has been the class of local soccer and we're looking forward to playing them," Markovic said. Stony Brook returns home to face Seton Hall on September 13, in a match representing one of the top schools to ever visit LaValle Stadium. "It's going to be exciting for our players and fans to see a Big East school at our stadium," Markovic said.

The Seawolves continue non-conference action at Long Island University on September 16 and travel to the University of Evansville for the Aces Invitational that weekend. Stony Brook opens the tournament against Eastern Illinois on September 18 and faces Evansville two days later. In 2006 the Seawolves defeated Evansville, 1-0, in the same invitational. Matches against Quinnipiac (Sept. 20) and Adelphi (Sept. 26) round out the non-conference slate.

Stony Brook opens conference play at Boston University on October 3 and travels to face UMBC on October 7. The Seawolves return home for three straight home matches, beginning with in-state rivals Binghamton on October 10 and Albany on October 17 before facing Vermont on October 21. They are at New Hampshire on October 24 and close the regular season at home against Hartford on October 31.