Five straight matches against 2012 NCAA Division II Tournament teams to open the season and an expanded South Atlantic Conference slate of games are the highlights of the 2013 Tusculum College Women's soccer schedule, head coach Mike Joy unveiled on Thursday. (2013 Schedule)

The Pioneers compiled a 12-3-3 record last season and finished third in the SAC with a 6-1-2 record, but lost in penalty kicks to Wingate in the league semifinals and narrowly missed the sixth NCAA tournament appearance in program history.

Joy begins his 17th season at Tusculum and 22nd overall with 298 career wins, two shy of becoming the fourth coach in Division II history to reach 300 victories. With the Pioneers, Joy has collected 212 victories and is the all-time winningest coach in SAC history with 202 wins.

After playing a nine-game league schedule since 2010, the Pioneers will play 11 conference contests in 2013 with the addition of Queens University of Charlotte and Coker College to the league. Queens is the first team on Tusculum's conference schedule as the Pioneers travel to play the Royals on Wed., Sept. 18 at 5 p.m. in the third all-time meeting between the schools.

The biggest challenge for the Pioneers will be a non-conference schedule that features five consecutive matches against 2012 NCAA Tournament qualifiers to begin the year. Overall, Tusculum's seven non-league opponents combined for a gaudy 96-41-13 record during the 2012 season and combined for five victories during last year's NCAA Tournament.

Tusculum will open the season by hosting the annual Kickoff Tournament at Pioneer Field on Sat., Sept. 7 and Sun., Sept. 8. The Pioneers will play California (Pa.) out of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in the tournament opener on Sept. 7 at 1:30 p.m. The Vulcans went 16-5-1 last season and were the top seed in the Atlantic Region in last year's NCAA Tournament. Tusculum will play North Alabama in the Sunday match at 1:30 p.m., against a Lions squad that finished 13-6-1 and advanced to the second round of NCAAs.

The Pioneers play their third straight home game on Tues., Sept. 10 against Belmont Abbey at 6 p.m. The Crusaders finished 12-10-1 overall but won the Conference Carolinas tournament championship and upset Lenoir-Rhyne 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

Tusculum then heads on the road for a stretch of four consecutive games, beginning Fri., Sept. 13 at Columbus State at 7 p.m. in tournament action. The Cougars fashioned an 18-4-1 record last year and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The Pioneers' stretch of non-conference matches concludes on Sun., Sept. 15 in a neutral-site match against Tampa. The Spartans were 15-4-4 last season and won two games in the NCAA Tournament before falling 2-0 to eventual champion West Florida in the third round.

Following the Pioneers' SAC opener at Queens on Sept. 18, the squad heads to Mars Hill for a noon match on Sat., Sept. 21. The Pioneers edged the Lions 3-2 in overtime last season in Greeneville and have an 18-5 advantage in the all-time series. Mars Hill finished 6-13 overall and 2-7 in the SAC in 2012.

Tusculum is back home for three straight matches starting Wed., Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. against Lees-McRae. The Bobcats won the Conference Carolinas regular-season title last year and finished with a 12-5-2 record, but have dropped seven of the eight all-time meetings with the Pioneers.

Tusculum continues its home and SAC schedule on Sun., Sept. 29 at 1 p.m. against Wingate, which joined Lenoir-Rhyne as SAC representatives in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Bulldogs posted an 8-1 record in conference play and went 14-3-2 overall last season. The Pioneers finish their homestand exactly one week later against Anderson on Sun., Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. The Pioneers shut out the Trojans (7-7-3, 4-3-2 SAC) 3-0 on the road last season to even the all-time series at 3-3-1.

The Pioneers play their next four matches on the road, all in the state of North Carolina. Tusculum visits Brevard on Wed., Oct. 9 and travels to Catawba on Sat., Oct. 12 in SAC contests. The Pioneers blanked the Tornados (1-15-2, 0-8-1 SAC) 6-0 last season and are 5-2 all-time against Brevard, while the Pioneers' 1-0 win over the Indians (13-7, 5-4 SAC) improved Tusculum's all-time record in the series with Catawba to 6-7-4.

Tusculum plays its final non-conference contest on Mon., Oct. 14 at UNC Pembroke. The Braves, who went 10-7-3 last season, and the Pioneers played to a 0-0 tie in Greeneville last season in the first meeting since Tusculum defeated UNC Pembroke in 2005 and 2006. The Pioneers finish their road swing on Sat., Oct. 19 at defending SAC regular season and tournament champion Lenoir-Rhyne (16-2-2, 9-0 SAC). Last season, the teams went to double overtime before the Bears scored the only goal in the closing minutes. The schools have 11 wins apiece in the all-time series, with one tie.

The final two weeks of the regular season begins on Wed., Oct. 23 at Pioneer Field against Lincoln Memorial at 5 p.m. The Pioneers edged the Railsplitters (7-7-2, 3-4-2 SAC) 3-2 on the road last season and are 11-7-2 all-time against their in-state rivals. Tusculum welcomes Coker to Greeneville on Sun., Oct. 27 at 1 p.m. for the annual Senior Day game. The Cobras went 4-12-2 in their final season in Conference Carolinas, and will be facing the Pioneers for the first time since winning back-to-back meetings in 1993 and 1994.

Tusculum wraps up its regular-season home schedule on Wed., Oct. 30 against rival Carson-Newman at 5 p.m. at Pioneer Park. The Pioneers downed the Eagles (3-11-2, 1-7-1 SAC) 3-2 last season to increase their lead in the all-time series to 16-13-2. The final game of the regular season is set for Sat., Nov. 2 at Newberry against the Wolves (7-8-4, 2-4-3 SAC), who battled the Pioneers to a 1-1 tie on the road last season. Tusculum had won 15 of its 17 all-time meetings with Newberry, with one tie, before last year's draw.

The Food Lion SAC Tournament begins the week of Nov. 3, with the conference champion scheduled to be crowned on Sun., Nov. 10 at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill, S.C. The NCAA Division II Tournament will culminate with the Final Four at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga. on the weekend of Nov. 30 and Dec. 2.