The Tusculum College men's soccer team will kick off its 2012
season Thursday afternoon when the Pioneers travel to Limestone
College for a 4:00 p.m. match.
The Pioneers are the preseason favorites in the South Atlantic
Conference coaches' poll, and return seven starters from last
year's team that finished 6-1-2 in the SAC to earn a second-place
finish.
Preseason All-Conference defenders Matias Rubio and Fredrik Muren
anchor the back line for the Pioneers, while leading scorer Stephen
McNeill is joined by a pair of offensive threats in Roberto
Pimentel and Andre Bissmark.
The Saints finished 12-7 overall in 2011 and claimed second place
in the Conference Carolinas West Division with a 7-4 record. In
last year's meeting, Limestone captured a 3-1 victory over Tusculum
on Sept. 14 at Pioneer Field.
Live stats for Thursday's match will be available courtesy of
Limestone here,
and live video will be available here.
Tusculum will host 12th-ranked Barry University in their home
opener Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Pioneer Field. The Bucs
advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division II Tournament last
season but needed overtime to defeat the Pioneers 2-1 in last
year's meeting between the schools.