University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Play Five NCAA Tournament Teams In 2009
June 5, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The 2009 Richmond men's soccer team will play five NCAA Tournament teams and five of the six teams that played in the 2008 Atlantic Tournament.
The Spiders will play 2008 NCAA Tournament teams George Mason, William & Mary, Saint Louis, Dayton and Massachusetts, with George Mason, Dayton and UMass at home.
Five of the nine conference matches will be against teams that played in the 2008 Atlantic 10 Tournament (Saint Louis, Dayton, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Fordham).
"The 2009 season schedule is a deceptively strong one," Richmond first-year coach Clint Peay said. "In conference play, we will see many of the top teams based on the results over the last few years. Our out of conference opponents are a mix of NCAA tournament teams and quality programs in their respective conferences. We believe the strength of the teams and variety of playing styles of our early non-conference opponents will be beneficial to our preparation for the A-10."
Because of construction at First Market Stadium, the Spiders will play 15 of their 20 games on the road. The five home regular-season matches and two exhibitions will be played at Ukrop Park, which is located in Chesterfield County, off Chippenham Parkway.
The Spiders play just one of their first 13 matches at home, including a seven-game road trip at midseason. Richmond concludes the season with four of the last five matches at home.
The Spiders' home games include exhibitions against VMI (Aug. 21) and American (Aug. 25). Richmond's regular-season home games are against George Mason (Sept. 19), Dayton (Oct. 23), Xavier (Oct. 25), Massachusetts (Nov. 6) and Rhode Island (Nov. 8). The 2009 Atlantic 10 Tournament will be played at Rhode Island, Nov. 12-15.
"With many of our games set up with one day of rest between two games, it will be important to manage the volume and intensity of our players throughout the season," Peay said. "We feel very positive about this upcoming season. Although this will be my first season at UR, the expectations are for more than just a rebuilding year. Everyone knows the challenges ahead of us, and they will be ready to meet them head on."