A total of six non-conference road games against California teams and two contests against teams that reached the 2011 NCAA Sweet 16 are the highlights of the 2012 UNLV men's soccer schedule, which was released by the athletics department on Thursday. 

"I think we have a very difficult schedule, and we are going to have our hands full, but to be the best you have to play the best," said UNLV head coach Rick Ryerson. "We are playing a full 20-game schedule after playing 18 the past few years. I believe this is the most challenging schedule we could have put together, while also staying in our region. Of our non-conference opponents, there are several teams that are going to be very tough to face, including St. Mary's, while Syracuse, who is playing in our home tournament, has several national level players from both the US and Canada. Our players are going to have to rise to the challenge of these teams, and we believe they are up to that task." 

The Rebels will begin their 2012 campaign with four consecutive games in California. First up is the season opener on Aug. 24 at UC Davis. Two days later the Rebels will travel to Moraga to face St. Mary's, who advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament before falling to eventual national champion North Carolina. The second weekend of the season will see UNLV facing Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles on Aug. 31, before going to Fullerton to face the Cal State Fullerton Titans on Sept. 2. 

UNLV's home opener will be on the Sept. 7 weekend, with a early afternoon contest against Cal State Northridge at 1 pm, while the Rebels will also host UC Riverside on Sept. 9 at 4:30 pm. Both games are part of a triple-header of soccer on those dates, with the UNLV women's soccer team hosting a tournament that Friday and Sunday. 

The Rebels will host their one tournament of the season on Sept. 14 and 16. UNLV will open the four-team event by playing Syracuse, and then will take on Canisus on Sept. 16. Cal State Fullerton will be the fourth team in the event. Then its back to the state of California for three more games, starting with games at San Diego State (Sept. 21) and Sacramento State (Sept. 23). The final game of the trip will be the start of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation schedule, a Sept. 29 contest at CSU Bakersfield. 

There are a few schedule changes in the MPSF this year, as Sacramento State left the conference, and was replaced by Houston Baptist. That change also resulted in the Rebels switching divisions to the Pacific, joining CSU Bakersfield, Seattle, and San Jose State. UNLV will play the latter two on Oct. 5 and 7 in Las Vegas, respectively, and again on the road on Oct. 12 and Oct. 14. Following that will be four straight against the Mountain division, with games at New Mexico (Oct. 19) and Houston Baptist (Oct. 21), and home games against Air Force (Oct. 26) and Denver (Oct. 28). New Mexico is the second NCAA team from a year ago that UNLV will face, as the Lobos reached the round of 16. A Senior Night game against CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 2 ends the regular season slate. 

The 2012 MPSF Tournament, in which six of the eight teams in the league will advance to, will be hosted by New Mexico in Albuquerque on Nov. 8-11. 

http://www.unlvrebels.com/sports/m-soccer/sched/unlv-m-soccer-sched.html