April 17, 2009

River Forest, IL - The Dominican University Department of Athletics released the 2009 men's soccer schedule on Friday with the Stars opening the season on September 1 at home against Hamline University. The game is rematch of the Stars 2007 season opener in which the Stars fell at Hamline 1-0.

After two more non-conference matchups at home against University of Chicago and Elmhurst College, the Stars begin their quest for a fourth straight Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) Championship when they open the conference season in Watertown, Wis., at Maranatha Baptist Bible College on Friday, September 11.

On Wednesday, September 16, the Stars play the first of two games on their 2009 schedule against teams that made the NCAA Division III National Tournament last season as Dominican travels to Wheaton College to take on the Thunder. The Stars a 3-1 all-time against the perennial powerhouse, suffering their first defeat against the Thunder last season.

Dominican then hosts back-to-back home games with Marian University visiting the Stars on September 19 and UW-Whitewater meeting Dominican on September 24. After a pair of NAC road matches, the Stars travel to North Park University to take on the Vikings on October 2. Dominican then opens a string of six straight NAC contests with the Spartans of Aurora University visiting Dominican October 7.

On Sunday, October 25, the Stars will travel Waverly, Iowa, to take on the Wartburg College Knights, the second team on Dominican's schedule that received a bid to the 2009 National Tournament. The tilt is a rematch of a 2004 NCAA National Tournament first round which the Stars dropped at Wartburg, 3-1.

The Stars will then close out the 2009 regular season at Rockford College October 27 before opening play in the NAC Men's Soccer Tournament on November 1. In three seasons, the Stars have yet to lose a NAC regular season or tournament contest and will look to continue that string with the conference championship game on Saturday, November 7.