The Hofstra Men's Soccer team will face a difficult 2008 schedule that includes three teams which ended the 2007 regular season ranked in the top 10 in the country.

The Pride will play two opening weekend games at home against Stony Brook on Friday, August 29 at 7:30 p.m. and against Villanova on Sunday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m. Hofstra then has a grueling stretch of five straight games away from home, including four against nationally ranked teams from last year.

The stretch begins with a road game on Friday, Sept. 5 against 2007 College Cup participant Virginia Tech, which finished the regular season ranked #8 in the nation in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll. Hofstra then travels to Virginia (#25) on Sunday, September 7 before a local road trip to Temple on Saturday, Sept. 13.

The five-game road swing concludes with a daunting trip to the University of Tulsa Tournament. The Pride faces Tulsa (#9) on Friday, Sept. 19 and then meets Southern Methodist (#5) on Sunday, Sept. 21.

"We have definitely put together one of the most challenging schedules in our history this year," said Head Coach Richard Nuttall, who will be entering his 20th season at the Hofstra helm. "The quality of competition in the CAA has been so strong in recent years, and we feel that this year's schedule should definitely prepare us for conference play."

Hofstra opens its CAA schedule with a home contest against Georgia State on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. After playing its next two games on the road at VCU and Northeastern, Hofstra has a stretch of three straight home games and five out of six over the final three weeks of October. One of its home games, against Drexel on Tuesday, Oct. 14, will be played at Adelphi University due to the presidential debate which will be held at Hofstra on Oct. 15.

The CAA will have a new scheduling format this season, with games played on Wednesday on Saturdays during conference play, instead of the previous travel partner system which had Friday-Sunday weekends. Hofstra will have three straight Saturday night home games in October against Delaware (Oct. 11), defending CAA champion Old Dominion (Oct. 18) and William & Mary (Oct. 25). The CAA semifinals and finals will be played on Nov. 14-16 at the highest seed.

Hofstra will also face another top 10 team in a preseason exhibition, as it travels to #2 Connecticut on Saturday, Aug. 23. The Pride's first exhibition game will be at Fairleigh Dickinson on Aug. 20.

The Pride won three straight CAA titles from 2004-06 and twice advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in that span, but did not qualify for the postseason a year ago in an injury-plagued campaign.

To view the complete Hofstra Men's Soccer schedule, click here