AKRON, Ohio – Following its record-setting fall season, the 2009 NCAA national finalist University of Akron men's soccer team announced its 2010 spring schedule Wednesday.

Headlining the six-game exhibition slate, which gets underway on March 7th at Cleveland State (7-8-5), are match-ups with a pair of NCAA Tournament participants and a split-squad doubleheader against Michigan (10-7-1) and Oakland University (9-5-3) in Detroit. All six games will be played on the road to accommodate renovations at Lee Jackson Field.

"The spring is a crucial time for our team to take shape, especially considering we have several new pieces to put together," said UA head coach Caleb Porter, the NSCAA National Coach of the Year. "Obviously, last season is well behind us now and we are focused on laying the foundation and developing an identity, chemistry and leadership within the group. This is a new team but our standard will remain the same and these are the type of games we need to measure ourselves prior to the fall."

After opening the season against the Vikings, Akron will head north to face the Wolverines and Golden Grizzlies on March 27. UA defeated Michigan, 5-1, in Ann Arbor last October during their NCAA record-tying 23-game win streak and last faced Oakland in 2008. The Zips edged the Golden Grizzlies, 2-1, in that last meeting at Lee Jackson Field.

Following its double-dip weekend in Michigan, the Zips will then head to Morgantown to face West Virginia (7-5-6) of the Big East Conference on April 10 before traveling to College Park to take on Maryland (15-5-2), which was defeated, 3-0, by eventual champion Virginia in the quarterfinal round of last year's NCAA Tournament, on April 18.

UA picked up a 1-0 victory against the Mountaineers in their last meeting at Lee Jackson Field during the 2008 campaign and will be facing the Terrapins for the first time since 2005 when Maryland defeated the Zips in penalty kicks (4-1) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

The Zips will then wrap up their spring competition in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a match against Indiana (12-9-1) on April 24. The Hoosiers advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 in 2009 before falling to North Carolina, 1-0. Akron earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Indiana last September in the first of five sold-out games at Lee Jackson Field last season.

2010 UA Men's Soccer Spring Exhibition Schedule
Mar. 7 at Cleveland State, Cleveland, Ohio, 6 p.m.
Mar. 27 vs. Oakland, Detroit, Mich., 3 p.m.
Mar. 27 vs. Michigan, Detroit, Mich., 4:30 p.m.
Apr. 10 at West Virginia, Morgantown, W.Va., 3 p.m.
Apr. 18 at Maryland, College Park, Md., 1 p.m.
Apr. 24 vs. Indiana, Cincinnati, Ohio, 8 p.m.