Salem, Va. – Roanoke Men's Soccer will face three 2016 NCAA Tournament teams as the Maroons released their 2017 slate of matches.
The schedule features seven home contests, highlighted by the All Sports Café Roanoke Invitational at Kerr Stadium and includes three program's that have competed in the national championship game which includes, TCNJ, Lynchburg and Greensboro.
RC kicks off the season at the Lynchburg Invitational with a match-up against UMass Boston on Sept. 1, the Beacons finished in the top-16 of the national tournament after claiming the Little East Conference Championship. The Maroons then face Pfeiffer on Sept. 3 before traveling to Greensboro on Sept. 6 to face the Pride.
Sept. 9-10, Roanoke hosts Penn State Abington and TCNJ in the All Sports Café Roanoke Invitational in Salem. RC hits the road for the next three games beginning with a match-up with Averett on Sept. 13, followed by Mary Washington on Sept. 16 and Southern Virginia on Sept. 20.
The Maroons host reigning Old Dominion Athletic Conference champion Lynchburg to open conference play on Sept. 23 for the College's Family Weekend. Roanoke travels south to face Oglethorpe in a neutral site showdown at the SCA OrthoCarolina Sportsplex in Charlotte, N.C. Virginia Wesleyan makes the trip the Salem on the 30th to close out September.
In October, Roanoke heads to Guilford on the 4th and Washington and Lee on the 7th. The Maroons host Hampden-Sydney on Oct. 10 for a midweek match-up before heading to Shenandoah on Oct.13 for a Friday night game in Winchester, Va.
Randolph comes to Salem on Oct. 18 for a midweek match-up before the Maroons travel to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on Eastern Mennonite on the 21st. Roanoke closes the regular season against Emory & Henry on Oct. 24 at Kerr Stadium.
The Maroons have been undefeated in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference two of the last three years posting a 5-0-4 record in 2016 and a 10-0-1 mark in 2014.
Last season, Roanoke finished 9-5-5 overall and 5-0-4 in conference after defeating Eastern Mennonite 1-0 in the ODAC Tournament quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals.
RC returns five 2016 All-ODAC selections including Rookie of the Year Marc Hoppler and NSCAA All-Region selection Fortune Sibanda. Sam Rauf, Tim Mahabir and Nick Tadros were also selections to the all-conference teams in 2016.
