Greenville, S.C. - A home showdown with Duke, the Diadora/Spinx Furman Invitational and three Southern Conference home matches highlight the 2011 Furman men's soccer schedule, released on Tuesday by head coach Doug Allison.

Furman kicks off its season with an exhibition match at nationally-ranked Wake Forest and regular season inaugural at Campbell (Aug. 26) before hosting Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke at Stone Soccer Stadium in the home opener on August 29.

The Paladins will take part in the annual Nike/Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic hosted by College of Charleston on September 2-4, with matches scheduled against Rutgers and Princeton. Furman returns home to host UNC Asheville and Winthrop in the Diadora/Spinx Furman Invitational September 9-11, and travels to DeLand, Fla., to face Stetson and Jacksonville in the Stetson Classic the following weekend.

Home contests versus Presbyterian (Sept. 23) and USC Upstate (Sept. 27) are sandwiched around a trip to East Tennessee State (Sept. 25) prior to the Paladins' SoCon opener and 2010 SoCon Tournament final rematch at UNC Greensboro on October 1.

Furman hosts Georgia Southern (Oct. 4), Elon (Oct. 15) and Wofford (Oct. 28) during SoCon play while making trips to UNCG, Charleston, Appalachian State and Davidson. The Paladins cap their non-conference schedule on October 18, with a 7 p.m. road contest at Upstate rival Clemson.

Ten starters return from a 2010 Furman squad that posted a 10-7-4 overall record and claimed a share of the SoCon regular season title with a 4-1-2 league record. The returnees are led by senior goalkeeper Alec Kann who captured All-SoCon honors after posting a 0.79 goals against average last season.