The Carthage College men's soccer team (0-0-0, 0-0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) opens its 2012 season at the Friday-Saturday, Aug. 31-Sept 1 Wheaton College (Ill.) "Bob Baptista Invitational" at Joe Bean Stadium in Wheaton, Ill. 

Carthage plays Principia College on Friday, Aug. 31 at 2 p.m. and Kalamazoo College on Saturday, Sept. 1, also at 2 p.m.  Prior to the Wheaton event, the Red Men make a pre-season trip to San Antonio, Texas, where they'll scrimmage against Trinity University (Texas) on Monday, Aug. 27 at 5 p.m.
 
Vitalis Otieno (87-67-17, 9 years) coaches the Principia College Gold and Blue, who went 5-10-2 last year (3-4-1, 6th St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).  This is the first meeting between the two schools.  Kalamazoo is coached by Chris Adrian (48-61-4, 6 years).  The Hornets compiled a 5-13-1 mark in 2011 (3-11, 7th Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association) and will be the first of three MIAA opponents to face this year's Red Men team.  This will be the first meeting between Carthage and Kalamazoo.
 
Carthage went 14-6-2 in 2011 (5-1-1 CCIW) and won the CCIW Men's Soccer Tournament before losing a 1-0 contest to Calvin College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship.
 
Head coach Steve Domin  (170-128-31, 17 years) returns 22-of-34 letterwinners and seven-of-11 starters from last year's conference-championship team.  The Red Men return four all-conference players in goalkeeper Milan Tijanic (Sr., Glenview, Ill./Park Ridge-Maine East, 1.32 goals-against average, 84 saves, 6 shutouts), midfielder/forward Billy Hamilton (Jr., Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator, 4 goals, 5 assists), last year's "super-substitute" forward Michael Dombrowski  (So., Johnsburg, Ill., 10 goals) and forward/defender Greg Pignataro (Sr., Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs, 7 goals, 2 assists),