The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team released its schedule for the upcoming 2012 season, announced by Head Coach Seth Roland on Tuesday.  The Knights will be looking to make a fifth consecutive trip to the Northeast Conference Tournament after winning it all in 2008.  Last season, FDU just missed returning to the NCAA Tournament as it fell to Monmouth, 2-1, as the Hawks won the match with 20 seconds remaining in the second overtime period on a miracle shot.
 
"We have put together a pretty challenging non-conference schedule to go along with our competitive NEC slate,” Head Coach Seth Roland said.  “Everyone in the program wanted to put ourselves to the test of playing big games week-in and week-out.  We will certainly have to be fit, focused and committed from the opening contest if we want to be successful." 
 
Six of FDU's eight non-conference opponents had RPI's in the top 100 in 2011, and four of those eight teams have advanced to the NCAA Tournament within the past two years (Stony Brook, UAB, Penn and Princeton).

Before the start of the regular season, Coach Roland's squad will play a pair of scrimmages against local competition.  FDU will host Iona, who spent much of the 2011 season in the NSCAA Top 25, in an exhibition match at University Stadium on Aug. 13 before playing at Seton Hall on Aug. 18.

The Knights will open up their schedule with three of their first four matches at home.  The season kicks off at University Stadium against Stony Brook, a program who made last season's NCAA Tournament, on Friday, Aug. 24 at 7:00 p.m.  FDU will host Lafayette on Aug. 28 at 7:00 p.m. before hitting the road to Newark, NJ for a Sept. 1 clash with Garden State foe NJIT. 
 
On Sept. 7 at 7:00 p.m., the Knights will host Albany before traveling down to Birmingham, AL to play a pair of matches against Conference USA opponents UAB (Sept. 14), a 2011 NCAA Tournament participant who was ranked No. 21 in the final NSCAA Coaches' Poll, and Memphis (Sept. 16). 
 
FDU will continue its four-match road trip the following weekend with a pair of local contests at Princeton against Penn (Sept. 21) and the host Tigers (Sept. 23), which will conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule.
 
Northeast Conference play will commence for the Knights on Sept. 28 with a home match against LIU Brooklyn at 7:00 p.m.  After a week off, FDU will travel down the Garden State Parkway to West Long Branch, NJ for an Oct. 5 date with NEC rival Monmouth.  Two days later on Oct. 7, the Knights will travel to Emmitsburg, MD to take on Mount St. Mary's.
 
Oct. 12 will feature a 7:00 p.m. home contest against Sacred Heart, who FDU beat 1-0 in last season's NEC Tournament semifinals.  On Oct. 14, the Knights will travel to New Britain, CT to face Central Connecticut State.
 
FDU will host both Pennsylvania schools the following weekend.  Saint Francis PA comes to University Stadium on Oct. 19 for a 7:00 p.m. match before Robert Morris comes into town for a Sunday afternoon contest at 2:00 p.m. on Oct. 21.
 
The month of October will conclude with a Noon contest at Bryant on Oct. 28.  The Knights' final home match will take place on Nov. 2 at 7:00 p.m. against St. Francis NY before the regular season finale two days later at Quinnipiac on Nov. 4 with a 1:00 p.m. start time.

The 2012 Northeast Conference Tournament will once again be contested at the home site of the top seed. Semifinal matches are scheduled for Nov. 9 before the Nov. 11 championship game.