LOUDONVILLE, NY – Entering his fourth season at the helm of Siena Men's Soccer in 2023, Head Coach
Graciano Brito continues to steer the program towards success with challenging regular season competition. Brito announced a rigorous 17-match regular season slate featuring the defending national champions and other top regional talent as part of the team's milestone 50
th varsity season.
"We have a very challenging schedule this year," Brito said. "As we continue to grow, it's very important that we keep striving for excellence and challenge ourselves to new goals. We will be very young but it's vital for us to put ourselves in this type of position where we will be experiencing difficulties, but at the same time, show our potential!
The 2023 Siena Men's Soccer schedule will feature three teams who qualified for the 2022 NCAA Men's soccer College Cup and five who have been nationally ranked at some point during the past two seasons. The slate will also include seven home matches on campus at Hickey Field, where the Saints are a combined 11-4-6 under Coach Brito during his first three seasons.
The Green and Gold will kick things off to the west at Colgate on August 24, facing off against the Raiders for the first time since 2016. Siena's home opener will come on August 29 against perennial foe Sacred Heart, with the team staying in Loudonville to take on Lafayette on September 1.
Siena's first high-major challenge will come on September 4 when it heads east to battle Big East foe UConn for the first time in program history. The team will then face off against the 2022 defending NCAA Champions in ACC Champion Syracuse two hours west on September 12, marking its first matchup with the Orange since a 2-1 overtime triumph at home in 2011.
The team's 35th MAAC campaign and quest for its first conference title will commence on September 16 at Rider, before the Saints head back up north to conclude a four-game road trip at 2022 NCAA Quarterfinalist Vermont on September 19.
A return to MAAC play will be marked with another home battle on September 23 against Saint Peter's before the Saints wrap non-conference action by heading to Big East foe Providence for the second straight year on October 3. A road trip to Niagara on October 7 precedes a home conference contest against Canisius on October 11, kicking off a stretch of four home contests in the final seven regular season dates of the year.
Siena will head south to battle defending MAAC champion Quinnipiac on October 14 before returning for a pair of home matches against Fairfield on October 18 and versus Mount St. Mary's on October 21, with the latter acting as Senior Day. Trips to Iona on October 25 and Manhattan on October 28 will come before the team's regular season finale against Marist on November 3 at Hickey Field.
The 2023 MAAC Championships will feature the top six finishers from the regular season, with quarterfinals taking place on November 5, semifinals on November 8, and the 2023 MAAC Championship Game on November 12, all at the higher seeded team. Siena will aim for its fourth straight postseason appearance in as many years under Coach Brito, as well as the program's first MAAC Tournament victory since 2016.
