Navy Lacrosse (NAVYLAX)

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12/04/2009

Navy Lacrosse 2010 Schedule Posted !!

Our favorite Sports Information Professional - Stacie Michaud published the 2010 Navy Lacrosse schedule today, and this promises to be an exciting spring indeed.

Navy will have some of the highlights of the season, starting off with the earliest game of the season in Division I against VMI and following with the first televised game of the season against North Carolina.

We bring Loyola and Towson to the schedule, adding a real change of pace for local lacrosse, and we will also reprise last year's appearance in the Day of Rivals, by facing off against Army in M&T Bank Stadium, once again.

This promises to be an exciting year.

Collegiate Men's Lacrosse
Navy releases 2010 men's lacrosse schedule

Men's Lacrosse Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773

Navy Men's Lacrosse to Make Six National Television Appearances in 2010

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Six nationally-televised games and seven top 25-ranked opponents highlight the 2010 Navy men's lacrosse schedule released Friday by 16th-year Navy head coach Richie Meade. Navy will play its traditional six-game Patriot League slate, along with seven nonconference battles that include five programs in the Baltimore-Washington DC area.

"The way our schedule is laid out this year, we have big games in each month," said Meade "For us to be successful, we will have to come out of the gates playing well and be able to maintain some consistency throughout the year. It's a challenging schedule that features teams from not only the Patriot League, but also the ACC, the Big East, the CAA, the ECAC. It's a well-rounded schedule and will certainly be an exciting one for our fans."

Navy is on tap to play a pair of scrimmages (Jan. 30 vs. UMBC, Feb. 6 at Virginia) prior to officially kicking off the season on Feb. 13 at home against VMI (12:00 pm). The Mids' meeting against the Keydets marks the third consecutive year the two military institutions have met in what has been both programs' season opener. Anchored by Evan Sullivan's hat trick, Navy dealt VMI a 13-5 loss to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

Meeting for the first time in better than 15 years, Navy and Loyola will battle one another at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Feb. 20 at 12:00 pm. Though just 30 miles separate the two schools, they have just four previous meetings and only one in the last 60-plus years. The two teams established a series in 1939 and met three straight years before the dropping off. The last time Mids and Greyhounds faced off was in opening round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament where Loyola thumped the Mids, 19-8, in Annapolis.

Each program has a connection to the other as Loyola head coach Charlie Toomey was the Naval Academy Prep School head coach in 1993 before spending the next two seasons on Navy's staff as an assistant, including the 1995 campaign when Meade was named the Mids' head coach. Meanwhile, third-year Navy assistant coach Stan Ross is a graduate of Loyola and a four-year letterwinner as a close defenseman for the Greyhound program.

"This game on paper just made sense," said Meade. "We've had Ohio State on the schedule and Loyola was playing Notre Dame and at the end of the day, it made sense for us to play one another instead of each of us spending hours on the road to play and equally-competitive opponent. I'm excited to begin a series with Loyola."

Navy will close out its three-game home stand by playing host to North Carolina in an unusual Thursday night (7:00 pm) battle at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The first of six televised games for the Mids, it's the first of four that will be carried by CBS College Sports, the Home of Navy Athletics. The two programs have a long-standing rivalry that dates back to 1975 and the series is all square at 12 wins apiece. In classic Navy-North Carolina style, last year's game went down to the wire with the Tar Heels slighting the Mids, 9-8, in Chapel Hill. Seven of the last 11 meetings between the two teams have been decided by one goal.

The Mids kick off conference action on March 2 when they travel to Bethlehem, Pa. for the second straight year to face Lehigh. Though Navy owns a 27-1 series advantage, winning 24 in a row, the Mountain Hawks gave the Mids all they could handle in last year's contest. Navy came out the victor with a 10-8 decision, but the Mids were forced to score seven goals in the third period after Lehigh took an early 5-1 advantage. Game time is set for 7:00 pm.

Since joining the Patriot League in 2005, the annual Navy-Bucknell contest has become a spirited battle. While Navy holds a 6-3 advantage, the two teams swapped wins a year ago. The Bison took the regular-season contest when 2009 Patriot League Rookie of the Year Charlie Streep poked in the game-winner as time expired. Navy, though, took a more important win, a 9-8 victory over top-seeded Bucknell in the Patriot League Championship to punch the Mids' ticket to their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament. This year's much-anticipated battle will take place on Saturday, March 6 in a game that will be televised by CBS College Sports (3:00 pm) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Lafayette will play host to Navy on March 12 under the lights (7:00 pm), as the Leopards are hoping to snap their 10-game losing streak to the Mids. Navy has scored double digits against Lafayette in eight of their 10 meetings, including last year's 14-9 victory last year in Annapolis.

Navy will take a break from Patriot League play when it makes the short trip to Towson. Much like the Loyola series, Navy and Towson have not met since the mid-90s. The two programs battled yearly from 1991-97. but have not met since the Tigers' 14-6 victory in '97. Navy will travel to Towson on March 16 (7:00 pm) to face off for the ninth time in series history.

After playing three straight years away from Annapolis, Holy Cross will return to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on March 20 (12:00 pm). Navy, who owns a 6-0 series lead, has outscored the Crusaders 40-8 in the two contests played in Annapolis, however, Holy Cross is a much-improved team. Meade won't have to explain that to the Mids after Navy found itself in a 4-3 deficit going into the final quarter of action last year. Navy won that game, 10-5.

Like the Bucknell series, the annual Navy-Colgate matchup has turned into its own rivalry. Though the Mids have a handle on the series with a 9-3 advantage, the two teams have swapped victories in each of the last two years. In 2008, the Mids bested the Raiders during the regular season but were dealt a 12-9 blow in the opening round of the league tournament, suffering its first tournament loss since joining the Patriot League. Last year, Colgate defeated the Mids in Annapolis, handing Navy its first conference loss at home since joining the league. Navy, though, upended Colgate in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament, as Joe Lennon scored the last three goals of the game to lead the Mids to a 9-8 triple overtime win.

In what will be just the third meeting between the two in Hamilton, N.Y., Navy and Colgate will face one another on Saturday, March 27 beginning at 3:00 pm.

The next four games on Navy's docket are against long-time rivals. Leading off is the April 2 contest at home against Georgetown, a team the Mids have faced every year since 1991. While the Hoyas own a 13-7 series advantage, attackman Brendan Connors scored three goals to anchor the offense and keeper Tommy Phelan stymied Georgetown with 15 saves to help lead the Mids to a 10-8 victory. The Navy win snapped a five-game skid by Navy in the series. The contest is slated for a rare Friday evening and will be aired live by CBS College Sports.

The following week will pit Navy against Maryland at the Terps' Byrd Stadium. Fans have been treated to some great battles between the Mids and Terps over the last decade. Eight of the last 11 games have been decided by one goal, including four of the last five. Last year, Navy dominated Maryland in Annapolis as Bruce Nechanicky scored three goals and added on a fourth to lead the Mids to a 10-4 rout over the Terps. A national audience will be able to watch the April 2 game on ESPNU starting at 12:00 pm.

In the summer of 2008, Navy entered into a two-year commitment with Inside Lacrosse to take part in the Day of Rivals. The inaugural event was held last spring and featured two of the game's longest and most cherished rivalries - Army vs. Navy and Maryland vs. Johns Hopkins. Once again, M&T Bank Stadium will host the four-team event, as the Black Knights and Midshipmen meet for the 88th time and the Terps and Blue Jays square off for the 106th time. The day kicks off with the Army-Navy game at 4:00 pm, followed by Hopkins and Maryland at 6:30 pm, both televised by ESPNU. The Mids own a 57-27-3 series advantage, including wins in 14 of the last 15 games.

For the seventh consecutive year, Navy will close out the regular season by facing Johns Hopkins on April 24 in Annapolis. In what has been a heartbreaking series for Navy supporters, the Blue Jays have won 35 in a row against the Midshipmen. Seven of the last 15 games between the two teams have been decided by one goal, including four of the last seven. Four of the last six games played in Annapolis have gone down to the wire with Hopkins the victor by one goal. CBS College Sports will air the game from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium starting at 12:00 pm.

Finally, the four-team Patriot League Tournament is slated to be played April 30 and May 2 at the site of the highest seed. Since joining the league in 2004, the Midshipmen have played host to four of the six tournaments and have claimed the title five times. Navy owns a 10-1 all-time record in the Patriot League Tournament. CBS College Sports will televise both semifinal contests, as well as the championship game. Times for those games will be announced at a later date.

"Every one of the teams in the Patriot League has made a push forward in terms of being competitive," said Meade. "I think the days of winning a Patriot League game by 10 or 12 goals are over. The league as a whole is starting to balance out and it's certainly given us the shot in the arm to re-focus and know we have a battle to fight every time we step foot on the field."

Since the start of the 2004 campaign, 38 Navy lacrosse games have been televised with at least five in each of the last six years. In 2008, the Mids made eight appearances on either a live or tape-delayed basis. Navy was on TV seven times in 2004, six times in '05, '06 and '09 and five times in '07.

2010 Navy Men's Lacrosse Schedule (as of Dec. 4, 2009)

Preseason Scrimmages
Date Day Opponent Time Location

Jan. 30 Sat. UMBC 10:00 am Annapolis, Md.

Feb. 6 Sat. at Virginia 3:00 pm Charlottesville, Va.

Regular-Season Schedule
Date Day Opponent Time Location

Feb. 13 Sat. VMI 12:00 pm Annapolis, Md.

Feb. 20 Sat. Loyola 12:00 pm Annapolis, Md.

Feb. 25 Thurs. North Carolina 7:00 pm Annapolis, Md. CBS College

March 2 Tues. * at Lehigh 7:00 pm Bethlehem, Pa.

March 6 Sat. * Bucknell 3:00 pm Annapolis, Md. CBS College

March 12 Fri. * at Lafayette 7:00 pm Easton, Pa.

March 16 Tues. at Towson 7:00 pm Towson, Md.

March 20 Sat. * Holy Cross 12:00 pm Annapolis, Md.

March 27 Sat. * at Colgate 3:00 pm Hamilton, N.Y.

April 2 Fri. Georgetown 7:00 pm Annapolis, Md. CBS College

April 10 Sat. at Maryland 12:00 pm College Park, Md. ESPNU

April 17 Sat. *^ vs. Army 4:00 pm Baltimore, Md. ESPNU

2nd Game - 6:30 pm - Johns Hopkins vs. Maryland

April 24 Sat. Johns Hopkins 12:00 pm Annapolis, Md. CBS College

April 30, May 2 Fri., Sun. Patriot League Tournament TBA Highest Seed CBS College

Home contests (in bold) played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
* - Patriot League Games

^ - Day of Rivals - Ravens Stadium

Go Navy !!!

Buddy Garland '84