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BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech head men’s soccer coach Mike Brizendine announced Wednesday the full 2015 Hokie schedule, a tough slate that features seven teams that made it to the 2014 NCAA Soccer Championship.

“With the group of players we have coming back, we wanted to put together a challenging schedule that would put us to the test,” Brizendine said. “Our home slate is a great one that features three of the past four NCAA champions and I know our fans will enjoy the high quality of soccer that will be played at Thompson Field this fall.”

The Hokies will open the season with a trio of scrimmages, two of which are at home. Tech will take on Liberty (Aug. 15) and James Madison (Aug. 19) at home and will finish up the preseason with a trip to ETSU on Aug. 22.

Tech will open the season on Friday, Aug. 28 with a home match against UNCG at Thompson Field at 8:30 p.m. The Hokies beat the Spartans 1-0 last season in Greensboro. The following weekend, Tech heads to Ohio for a pair of non-conference matches as it takes on Cincinnati (Fri., Sept. 4) and Xavier (Sun., Sept. 6).

The Hokies return home for their ACC opener against North Carolina on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. The Tar Heels advanced to the quarterfinals of last year’s NCAA Championship. A mid-week game at VMI follows on Tuesday, Sept. 15 before the Hokies travel to Louisville on Friday, Sept. 18. While the Cardinals joined the league this past year, Tech did not play them and haven’t played them since 1994. The Hokies own a 10-3 lead all-time in the series that dates back to 1980.

A pair of home matches at Thompson Field follow as Tech hosts Delaware on Sept. 22 and Boston College on Sept. 25. The Hokies then travel to Clemson for an ACC match-up on Oct. 2 before returning home to host West Virginia on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Tech then hits the road for three of its next four matches, at Pittsburgh (Oct. 9), High Point (Oct. 13) and Charlotte (Oct. 20). Squeezed in between those three contests is a home match against Notre Dame on Oct. 16.

On Oct. 23, the Hokies welcome defending national champion Virginia to town for a battle as part of the Commonwealth Clash, and a key ACC bout. Tech wraps up the season at home on Oct. 27 against Belmont and on the road on Oct. 30 at Duke.

In a change from previous seasons, all four rounds of the 2015 ACC Men’s Soccer Championship will be held at campus sites, with the higher seeded teams serving as hosts for each game. The first round is set for Nov. 4, followed by the quarterfinals on Nov. 8. Semifinal games will be played Nov. 11, followed by the championship match on Nov. 15.

In all, seven teams that made the 2014 NCAA postseason appear on Tech’s schedule: Charlotte, Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia and Xavier. Nine of the 17 squads on the slate finished in the top 55 of the 2014 NCAA RPI, including six in the top 15 (Virginia: 2; Notre Dame: 6; North Carolina: 7; Charlotte: 9; Clemson: 11; Xavier: 13).

Recent national champions Virginia (2014), Notre Dame (2013) and North Carolina (2011) will all play in Blacksburg this fall.

The Hokies open preseason camp in Blacksburg on Aug. 11.

For updates on Virginia Tech men's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MSoccer