Another challenging schedule awaits the KU soccer team as nine games versus NCAA Tournament participants highlight the 2011 schedule, released Monday by 12th-year head coach Mark Francis.

The season kicks off on Aug. 14 with a 1 p.m. contest versus Horizon League regular-season champion Butler in the first of 10 games scheduled at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex in Lawrence. After hosting the Bulldogs, KU will cap a three-match homestand, hosting SEC schools Tennessee (Aug. 19) and Arkansas (Aug. 21).