CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's soccer program and head coach Ralph Lundy have announced the team's 2011 playing schedule. The 2011 slate is consistent with the team's goal of challenging and measuring itself against the toughest competition in the country.

The 2011 campaign features 17 matches with eight to be played within the comforts of Patriots Point. In the spirit of competing with the best teams in the country, Lundy has scheduled matches with six teams who participated in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

"The 2011 schedule is very challenging and will provide our program with wonderful opportunities to compete against the nation's best teams," said Lundy, who enters his 25th season as CofC's head coach. "The Southern Conference is always difficult, but it is also important for us to have high-level out-of-conference matches as well. Last year we were able to benefit from a tough schedule by earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and if we get some positive results this season we will position ourselves for another tournament bid in 2011."

After exhibition matches with Presbyterian College and Mercer, the Cougars open the regular season with a marquee matchup against cross-state rival South Carolina on at Friday, Aug. 26 at Patriots Point. The season opener is sure to draw attention as it features two of the top three winningest active Division I soccer coaches as well as two teams which advanced in last season's NCAA Tournament.

Following the USC game, the Cougars will stay home to host the 11th annual Nike / Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic over Labor Day weekend. This year's Classic will bring Rutgers, Princeton and Furman to town as the Cougars look to back up last year's sweep of the Classic. CofC plays 2010 NCAA Tournament participant Princeton on Friday, Sept. 2 and Rutgers on Sunday, Sept. 4.

The following weekend, the Cougars will take to the road to compete in the Furman University Diadora / Spinx Tournament in Greenville, S.C. The Cougars open play in the tournament against UNC Asheville on Friday, Sept. 9 and conclude on Sunday, Sept. 11 against Winthrop.

The team will then head out west for games against the Air Force Academy on Friday, Sept. 16 and Denver University on Sunday, Sept. 18. Denver was a 2010 NCAA Tournament team as well.

The Cougars then open the SoCon portion of their slate with a match at Wofford on Saturday, Sept. 24 in Spartanburg, S.C., as the Cougars will look to extend their streak to three straight wins against the Terriers. CofC stays on the road and continues SoCon play with a match at Georgia Southern on Saturday, Oct. 1.

After over a month on the road, the Cougars return to Patriots Point to host their fourth NCAA Tournament team from a year ago in Coastal Carolina on Wednesday, Oct. 5. The Cougars return to SoCon play with a match against Furman on Saturday, Oct. 8 in which the Cougars will look to avenge last year's loss to Furman which snapped CofC's 12-match unbeaten streak.

The next portion of CofC's schedule challenges a pair of perennial soccer powerhouses and Atlantic Coast Conference foes in Wake Forest and North Carolina. The Cougars host Wake Forest on Tuesday, Oct. 11 in a rematch of last season's bout in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Cougars unseated the then-ranked No. 19 Demon Deacons, 1-0, in Lundy's 400th career head coaching victory. The Cougars then head to Chapel Hill, N.C., on Saturday, Oct. 15 for a match against the UNC Tar Heels who advanced to the Final Four of last season's NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars close out the year with a four-match SoCon streak which will obviously have heavy implications on the SoCon standings and tournament seeding. The Cougars challenge Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 18 before returning home to host 2010 SoCon Tournament Champion and NCAA Tournament participant UNC Greensboro on Saturday, Oct. 22. The Cougars battled both the Mountaineers and the Spartans to a 2-2 draw in last season's contest.

The Cougars stay at home to host Elon on Tuesday, Oct. 25 before trekking to Davidson to close out the regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 1 and avenge the loss to the Wildcats which eliminated the Cougars from last season's SoCon Tournament.

The quarterfinals of the 2011 SoCon Tournament will be played on the campuses of the four highest seeded teams on Saturday, Nov. 5. The semifinals and finals will be played on Friday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 13, respectively, in Boone, N.C., on the campus of Appalachian State.