HARRISONBURG, Va. – Coming off two losses against local rivals last weekend to open its season, the men's soccer team heads south to compete in the James Madison University/Fairfield Inn by Marriott Invitational Men's Soccer Tournament beginning on Friday.

The Bonnies will battle UNC Asheville on Friday at 5 p.m. before concluding the trip with a match against Florida Atlantic on Sunday at 12 p.m.

The meeting with the Bulldogs out of the Big South Conference will be the first ever between the two schools. UNC Asheville battled Mercer to a 1-1 tie last Saturday at home to open its 2011 campaign.

Asheville finished with a 4-13-1 mark last season under then first-year head coach Matt Kern. The Bulldogs are led at the back by their senior keeper, Lassi Hurskainen, who was named to the Big South Second Team All-Conference a year ago despite the club's record.

Following Friday's match, St. Bonaventure will meet another team it has never played on Sunday in Florida Atlantic. The Owls opened their season last weekend with a win and a tie, defeating No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast, 3-1, before battling to a 1-1 tie with Florida International.

Like UNC Asheville, FAU is paced at the back with solid goalkeeping. Currently, the Owls rank first in the Mid-American Conference in saves as netminder Jeremy Crumpton has made 17 of them of the year.

St. Bonaventure will be looking to bounce back from a 3-0 setback last Friday to the University at Buffalo and a 3-1 loss at the hands of Niagara University on Sunday. In the game against the Purple Eagles, sophomore Kaine Moar tallied his first goal as a member of the Brown and White off a feed from former high school teammate Emmett O'Connor.

Following this weekend's tournament, the Bonnies will return to campus before turning around and heading south again next weekend to compete in a tournament hosted by High Point University in North Carolina.