April 14, 2008

Loudonville, N.Y. - New Siena men's soccer head coach Gareth Elliott released his team's 2008 schedule this afternoon. The Saints are set to open the season on Aug. 30 in Loudonville against NJIT and will undertake a strong schedule that features a 17-game regular season slate, including contests against four teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season.

"I'm excited for the upcoming season," commented Elliott. "I think it (the schedule) will prepare us well for postseason play which is the ultimate goal."

Included in the 17-game docket are a total of eight non-league games, three of which will be played on the Siena College campus.

Following a pair of exhibition contests, the Saints open the season on Saturday, Aug. 30 against the Highlanders of NJIT in a 4 p.m. kickoff. The Green and Gold then host Buffalo the following Tuesday.

The Green and Gold embark upon their road slate Sept. 6 in a highly anticipated rematch at UMass. The Minutemen advanced to the Final Four in last season's NCAA Tournament, although the Saints topped them 1-0 in a regular season contest in Loudonville.

Other non-conference games include a home date with Quinnipiac (Sept. 19) and road games at St. Francis N.Y. (Sept. 11), cross-town rival UAlbany (Sept. 21) and 2007 NCAA Tournament participant Central Connecticut State (Sept. 27). Siena concludes non-conference action on Oct. 3 in Kingston, R.I. against Elliott's alma mater, Rhode Island.

"Having URI on the schedule which is consistently a top tier program in the region along with a Final Four team from a year ago (UMass) should definitely spice up the season," added Elliott.

The MAAC schedule opens the weekend of Oct. 10 with a pair of weekend home games against 2007 NCAA Tournament team St. Peter's and Manhattan. The Saints then take to the road the following weekend for battles at Rider (Oct. 17) and reigning MAAC Champion Loyola (Oct. 19).

Siena begins a three game homestand with Niagara Oct. 24 which concludes on Nov. 1 for Senior Day against Marist. The regular season concludes with a pair of road games against Iona (Nov. 7) and Fairfield (Nov. 9).

The 2008 MAAC Men's Soccer Tournament gets underway Nov. 14-16 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and is hosted by Marist College.