St. John’s soccer team to play tough season

Head coach of the St. John’s soccer team Dr. Dave Masur announced the 18-game schedule for the upcoming 2011 season, a slate that includes nine games at the university’s Belson Stadium. One of the toughest in the country, the schedule includes nine opponents that participated in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, including six of the 16 national seeds and five teams that reached at least the NCAA Round of 16.
St. John’s opens the season on August 26 against the Terrapins in the first meeting between the two programs since the 2008 NCAA College Cup. The neutral-site game will be played at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
The Red Storm continues its season-opening three-game road swing with a September 1 contest at William & Mary before heading to Boston for a September 3 matchup against Boston University. St. John’s returns to Queens to open a season-long four-game home stand at Belson Stadium with a September 9 game against Harvard before a September 11 contest with Yale. Following a September 16 showdown with Indiana, the Red Storm concludes the home stand against local squad Iona on September 18. After opening the Big East schedule on the road with a September 24 game against Connecticut, St. John’s returns to non-conference action with a September 28 contest at Princeton.
“Each year we try to go out and play the very best schedule that we can and challenge ourselves throughout the course of the season,” said Masur. “Our hope is to always learn from the process of playing such a difficult schedule and continue to get better as the season progresses.”