Boston College Soccer Releases 2014 Schedule

In yet another sign that the 2014-15 college athletics season is right around the corner, the Boston College soccer team released its 2014 schedule on Friday. In less than two months we'll once again be treated to real, live bona fide college sports.

After a pair of exhibition games against Holy Cross #yeoldrivalry (August 19) and Connecticut (August 23), Boston College opens the 2014 campaign with non-conference home games against Iona (August 29) and Fordham (August 31). BC then hits the road for the first time with a road game at Quinnipiac (September 4). Home matches against Rhode Island (September 7), Brown (October 14), Boston University (October 21), Dartmouth (October 28) and a road game at Harvard (September 16) round out the non-conference portion of the schedule.

ACC play begins on September 12 with a home game against Clemson. ACC newcomer Louisville (September 19), N.C. State (October 10) and North Carolina (October 24) will also visit the Heights in conference play. BC hits the road for games at Duke (September 26), Notre Dame (October 3), Wake Forest (October 17) and Syracuse (October 31) to complete the eight-game conference schedule.

Even with the loss of Maryland to the Big Ten, the Eagles' 2014 conference schedule remains daunting. And Maryland's replacement, Louisville, is no slouch either. The Cardinals have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last seven seasons. BC also has the misfortune of having to play on the road against two of the three other seeded ACC teams from last year's NCAA Tournament, including 2013 National Champion Notre Dame.

The conference schedule is also notable for the programs that BC won't face in 2014. With 12 programs and only an eight game conference schedule, two of the three opponents that the Eagles will miss this year -- Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech -- are objectively terrible; finishing 11th and 12th in last year's league table. Pitt, in particular, finished winless in ACC play (0-9-2) and with all of one win on the year (1-11-4). BC does luck out a bit missing Virginia.

Luckily the non-conference is manageable enough that a return to the NCAA Tournament is attainable. Of the Eagles eight non-conference opponents in 2014, only one -- Quinnipiac -- earned a trip to last year's NCAA Tournament after winning the MAAC. Iona (80), Quinnipiac (84) and Brown (98) are the only three opponents with a final RPI in double-digits. Take care of business in non-conference play and acquit themselves reasonably well in conference play and a return to the NCAA Tournament is well within reach for BC.

Boston College will be looking to improve on a season in which it failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six seasons. The Eagles finished the year with a 7-9-2 record overall, eventually bowing out of the ACC Tournament quarterfinals to Maryland, 2-0.