UT San Antonio(w) head soccer coach Steve Ballard announced Monday the program’s 2012 schedule, which is highlighted by six matches against NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago, nine home contests and an eight-match slate of Western Athletic Conference action.
 
“The team is excited about all of the challenges that this schedule presents,” said Ballard, who will begin his seventh season at the helm this fall. “It is not only exciting to play six teams that participated in last season’s NCAA Tournament, but to face three of those squads (Baylor, Dayton, Texas State) on our home field will provide a great experience for our players and fans.”
 
The Roadrunners will open the season with a match at Houston Baptist on Aug. 17, while the home slate begins two days later when the Birds host Dayton at 1 p.m. The squad will travel to College Station for a matchup with Texas A&M (Aug. 25) before home contests against Eastern Michigan (Aug. 31) and Kent State (Sep. 2).
 
UTSA will play its third consecutive home match on Sep. 9 when Baylor visits the Alamo City for the third time in program history. The homestand precedes the Roadrunners’ longest road stretch of the season that includes matches at Sam Houston State (Sep. 14), Houston (Sep. 16) and Miami (Sep. 21). An Oct. 11 home tilt against CSU Bakersfield will close the non-conference portion of the schedule.
 
Meanwhile, home contests against Seattle (Sep. 28) and Idaho (Sep. 30) will kick-off UTSA’s inaugural WAC schedule. The conference slate also includes home matches against Louisiana Tech (Oct. 14) and I-35 rival Texas State (Oct. 28) and road contests against Utah State (Oct. 5), San Jose State (Oct. 7), Denver (Oct. 19) and New Mexico State (Oct. 21).
 
The WAC Tournament is scheduled to be played from Nov. 1-4 in Logan, Utah.