2008 Salisbury University fall athletic schedules released

SALISBURY, Md. -The Salisbury University Athletics Department officially released the 2008 fall schedules for its seven varsity teams; men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, men's and women's soccer and volleyball.

Once again the Sea Gull athletic teams have filled their schedules with nationally ranked opponents, Capital Athletic Conference contests, Atlantic Central Football Conference games and many regional non-conference rivalry games.

The Gulls have four teams set to defend conference championships from a year ago while the other three aim to return to the top in their respective conference.

Here are the schedule highlights for each sport:

Cross Country
Postseason: CAC men's champions and CAC women's runner-up
Can't Miss Home Meet: Salisbury hosts Don Cathcart Invitational (September 27, 10 a.m.)
Overview: The Salisbury men's and women's cross country teams will open their season at home (Winter Place Park) with the Sea Gull Opener the first weekend in September. The Sea Gulls will then travel to Waynesburg, Pa., on September 13 for the Waynes Invitational/Pre-NCAA Mideast Regional meet. After a week off, SU will host the Don Cathcart Invitational, in their final home contest of the regular season. On October 11 and 18 the Gulls will return to Pennsylvania for the DeSales Invitational and the Elizabethtown Invitational, respectively. November is championship time as November 1 is the Capital Athletic Conference Championships in Fredericksburg, Va., as the men's team looks to win its fourth consecutive CAC title. On November 15, the NCAA Regional Championships will be held in Waynesburg, Pa., and on November 22 the Division III NCAA National Championships will be held in Hanover, Indiana.

• Click here to view the entire 2008 cross country schedule

Field Hockey
2007 record: 20-2, 7-0 CAC
Postseason: NCAA semifinalists, CAC champions
Can't Miss Home Game: Salisbury vs. The College of New Jersey (October 10, 6 p.m.)
Overview: The Gulls will begin their 2008 schedule with back-to-back conference games on the road at Hood and St. Mary's (Md.). Salisbury will host Christopher Newport University under the lights on September 10 at Sea Gull Stadium (6 p.m.). The Captains handed SU its only regular-season loss in '07. On September 13 and 14, the maroon and gold will host the SU Invitational as they welcome SUNY Brockport, Denison and Frostburg State for the two-day tournament. The Gulls will hit the road for three games against three nationally ranked teams in Johns Hopkins, Messiah and Rowan. The Gulls return home to host York (Pa.) for a CAC game to cap off a busy month of September. SU will host five of its final six regular-season games, four of which will be night games, highlighted with a showdown with The College of New Jersey on October 10. The back-to-back matchup with Mary Washington and Catholic on October 25 and 29, respectively, should hopefully prepare SU for the CAC and NCAA postseason.

• Click here to view the entire 2008 field hockey schedule

Football
2007 record: 9-2, 3-1 ACFC
Postseason: NCAA tournament first round
Can't Miss Home Game: Salisbury vs. Wesley (Family Day - November 1, 1 p.m.)
Overview: The maroon and gold will kick off its 2008 season on the road as they face Albright College for the second-straight season. The Gulls handed the Lions a 42-12 defeat at home in 2007. SU will host back-to-back home games on September 13 and 20 against Geneva and Christopher Newport, respectively, before a three-game road trip. The Geneva game will be the first-ever SU football night game at Sea Gull Stadium. On October 10, the Gulls will face their first ACFC opponent, the Apprentice School, in Newport News, Va. SU will then take on nationally-ranked St. John Fisher on October 11, in a non-conference matchup. The Gulls welcome Lake Erie on October 18 for Homecoming before they head to Worcester, Mass., to take on Becker College. The annual Rt. 13 rivalry with Wesley College will take place at Sea Gull Stadium on November 1. SU will conclude its regular-season schedule as the Gulls head west to Annapolis to face Frostburg State in the annual Regents Cup game at the U.S. Naval Academy on November 15. The 2008 schedule features two 2007 NCAA tournament teams (Wesley and St. John Fisher).

• Click here to view the entire 2008 football schedule

Men's Soccer
2007 Record: 16-4-2, 7-1 CAC
Postseason: NCAA tournament second round, CAC champions
Can't Miss Home Game: Salisbury vs. York (Pa.) (September 27, 2 p.m.)
Overview: The Sea Gulls are the reigning CAC champions for the first time since 2005 and are set to repeat in '08. SU will open its season with the Elmer Lord Soccer Classic as they will welcome North Park (Ill.) on August 30 at 2 p.m. and Keene State (N.H.) on the 31st at 3 p.m. The schedule then sets the Gulls up for eight matches in the month of September, with an even four at home and four on the road. One of the home games is a contest against non-conference foe Lynchburg College on September 20. A week later, the maroon and gold will host CAC rival York (Pa.) as the Gulls attempt to make it three-straight over the Spartans. The defending CAC champion Sea Gulls will finish out their regular season with seven games in the first 22 days of October, five against conference opponents. Salisbury will host another Old Dominion Athletic Conference foe, Roanoke College, on October 4. The 2008 CAC tournament will begin on November 2 and conclude on the 8th.

• Click here to view the entire 2008 men's soccer schedule

Volleyball
2007 record: 28-11, 7-1 CAC
Postseason: NCAA tournament first round, CAC champions
Can't Miss Home Game: Salisbury Invitational (September 19 and 20)
Overview: Salisbury is set to defend the CAC championship for the first time since the beginning of the 2005 season. The Sea Gulls begin the season with back-to-back weekend tournaments in Pennsylvania. SU will begin conference play on September 10 as they travel to Fredericksburg, Va., to take on University of Mary Washington. The Gulls will then host two weekend tournaments, the Salisbury Invitational and Sea Gull Invitational, as they welcome teams from all over the Mid-Atlantic region. In October, the maroon and gold will partake in the McDaniel College and St. Mary's (Md.) tournaments. On October 17, the Sea Gulls will travel to Christopher Newport University to face the Captains, the team that knocked SU out of the NCAA tournament last season. The Sea Gulls conclude their regular season schedule on the road against conference foe Gallaudet University on October 29. The CAC tournament begins the following week.

• Click here to view the entire 2008 volleyball schedule

Women's Soccer
2007 Record: 14-4-1, 7-1 CAC
Postseason: NCAA tournament first round, CAC regular-season champions
Can't Miss Home Game: Salisbury vs. York (Pa.) (September 27, 1 p.m.)
Overview: The reigning CAC regular-season champions will start their season with five road contests before SU opens its '08 home schedule on September 13. That will begin a four-game homestand.  SU will take on Wesley, Villa Julie and York on the 17th, 20th and 27th respectively to kick off their conference schedule. The matchup with the Spartans of York College is a rematch of the 2007 CAC conference championship where the Spartans knocked off the top-seed Gulls, 2-0. The maroon and gold will close out their regular-season schedule in the month of October with seven games, only two of which will take place at home. The Gulls will take on Christopher Newport, Mary Washington and Richard Stockton, in back-to-back-to-back road games before they return home for a match with Marymount (Va.) on October 14. SU will hit the road again on the 18th and 21st before returning home for the final regular-season game against St. Mary's (Md.). This year's CAC tournament will begin on November 1 and conclude on the 8th.

• Click here to view the entire 2008 women's soccer schedule