HAMPDEN-SYDNEY — The 2013 Tiger soccer team will be a young squad in 2013 with approximately half the team being new faces. Many will be counted on to play right away to help support a strong group of returners, and they will be introduced to collegiate soccer in a trial by fire with the tough early schedule.

“I made our schedule difficult early on because I want our team prepared for the ODAC, plain and simple,” said Head Coach Josh Laux. “In an eight day span we play three teams that played for their conference championship last year. This coming weekend we have a quick turnaround with back to back games Saturday and Sunday and our opponent Sunday having an extra day of rest. It will be a tough test but a good challenge that will test our depth. We are a little banged up from preseason with a few main guys being questionable for the weekend but that just gives other players a chance to step up. The trip to Philadelphia will also serve as a team building exercise. I will announce the full itinerary soon but it will definitely be an experience for the boys.”

H-SC's trip to Philadelphia will find the Tigers playing at Rosemont on Saturday and against Penn State Abington at Germantown Academy on Sunday.

Rosemont went 11-8-1 on the season but was 7-2 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference to place second in the league. The Ravens eventually lost to Cabrini in the CSAC championship game, but luck was not on their side that day despite outshooting Cabrini 22-7.

Penn State Abington finished the season 12-5 with a 9-1 mark in the Northeastern Athletic Conference to win the league. The Nittany Lions advanced to the NEAC title game, but they were called for a foul in the box in overtime against Morrisville State College, losing the game on a penalty kick goal. Penn State Abington did advance to postseason play in the ECAC Tournament, but lost 3-2 in overtime to Alvernia.

The Tigers open up their home slate with two games, vs. Southern Virginia at 4 pm on September 6 and Greensboro at 2 pm on September 8.

Southern Virginia went 10-7 a year ago and 6-3 in USCAA play. The Knights brought in a large and talented freshman class that could make Southern Virginia an especially tough opponent to play with all the unknowns.

Greensboro went 11-5-4 last year and went to the USA South title game. The Pride took down top-seeded Christopher Newport in the semifinals by a score of 2-0, but their good luck came to an end in the title game, losing 1-0 to Methodist. The Pride played several ODAC schoos, including 2-0 defeats of Randolph and Lynchburg.