Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer and Volleyball Announce 2005 Schedules

(men's soccer) / (women's soccer) / (volleyball)

5/23/05 -- Long Island University's men's soccer, women's soccer and volleyball teams have announced their schedules for the 2005 fall season.

The men's soccer team plays three of its first four games against NCAA College Cup participants from last year, beginning with national semifinalist Duke on September 1 in Durham, N.C. That run continues with games September 9 at Michigan and two days later at Michigan State.

The home opener is September 6 against Manhattan. The squad will host the LIU Soccer Classic on September 16 vs. Saint Joseph's and September 18 against Sacramento State. A re-match of last year's Northeast Conference final against Fairleigh Dickinson takes place October 21 at LIU Field.

LIU (9-7-4, 6-2-1 NEC) last season won its first NEC title since 1997 with a 1-0 victory over the Knights and played in the NCAA College Cup for the first time since 1986 before losing at American University.

Coming off its second postseason appearance, the women's soccer team begins its season August 26 at Rider. The 2005 debut at LIU Field is September 3 against Drexel.

The Blackbirds compete at a tournament in Corvallis, Oregon on September 16 and 18 against Oregon State and Washington State, respectively. Two NCAA College Cup teams from last season are on the slate as LIU visits Binghamton on August 28 and NEC champion Central Connecticut State on September 30.

LIU (9-7-2, 4-3-2) last year competed in the ECAC Tournament and defeated Fordham in the semifinals, but dropped an overtime heartbreaker to Columbia in the final.

The volleyball team boasts seven NCAA Tournament participants on its schedule. That includes Georgia Tech on September 10 and Louisville on October 8, each advancing to the "Sweet 16."

LIU has eight regular season tournaments on its schedule, including the four-team Blackbird Invitational from September 16-17 and the five-team LIU Invitational on September 30 and October 1. The re-match of last season's conference final vs. Robert Morris is October 16 in Brooklyn.

The Blackbirds (32-1, 7-1) last season claimed their first NEC title with a 3-0 victory over Robert Morris. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time before falling to national runner-up Minnesota in the first round.