<p>EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. &ndash; SIUE men's soccer Head Coach Kevin Kalish officially has announced his team's 2012 schedule that includes eight regular-season home contests and six teams that finished in the nation's top 25 a year ago.</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>"This is an exciting schedule for us because it will challenge our players," said Kalish. "We have the opportunity to play teams from the ACC, Big 10, Big East, CAA, MAC and Atlantic 10."</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>SIUE has scheduled contests against No. 4 Creighton (Oct. 6), No. 10 Indiana (Sept. 14), No. 11 Akron (Sept. 2), No. 20 James Madison (Aug. 26), No. 23 Rutgers (Aug. 31), and No. 25 Bradley (Oct. 10).</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>"We're constantly looking to increase our RPI," said Kalish. "This schedule gives us the opportunity not only to increase our RPI but also challenge for a conference championship."</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>The Cougars begin the season with a pair of exhibition contests. SIUE faces IUPUI (Aug. 14) on the road and Missouri State (Aug. 17) at Korte Stadium.</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>The regular season opens Aug. 24 with the Cougars at the Virginia Tech Tournament. SIUE faces host Virginia Tech (Aug. 24) and James Madison. SIUE makes the trip to Omaha, Neb., for a pair of neutral site games against Rutgers and Akron.</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>SIUE's home opener is Sept. 7 with the Cougars facing regional rival DePaul. The Cougars also have home non-conference games against UMKC (Sept. 9), Dayton (Sept. 22), UIC (Sept. 26), and Nebraska-Omaha (Oct. 2).</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>The Cougars remaining non-conference road contests include Indiana, Green Bay (Sept. 18), and Duke (Nov. 2).</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>The Missouri Valley Conference season begins Oct. 6 at Creighton. SIUE's other MVC road contests include Evansville (Oct. 17) and Central Arkansas (Oct. 27).</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>SIUE welcomes Bradley, Missouri State (Oct. 13), and Drake (Oct. 20) to Korte Stadium for MVC play.</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>"We play in one of the best conferences in the country, so we must be ready for every contest." Kalish said.</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p>The State Farm MVC Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 7-11.</p>