Nov. 21, 2017
FULL 2018 SCHEDULE
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Head Coach Missy Doherty and the Penn State University women's lacrosse team announced their spring 2018 schedule earlier this week.
The 2018 slate is composed of 17 regular season contests highlighted by eight home games.
In just its fourth year the Big Ten Tournament will be held May 3-6 and the NCAA Tournament will begin the following weekend at regional sites with the 2018 Final Four being held at Stony Brook.
Of their 17 regular season contests in 2018, nine come against opponents who reached last season's NCAA Tournament with seven advancing past the first-round, Princeton making it to the Quarterfinals and Maryland winning the 2017 National Championship.
"Playing quality teams is important," mentioned Doherty. "We want to be among the best teams and to do that you really need to play the best."
Coming of their second consecutive Final Four appearance and 11th overall, the Nittany Lions open the season with a pair of road contests at Towson (Feb. 10) and at Lehigh (Feb. 17). Penn State will then play three consecutive home games over the next two weeks as they welcome Duquesne (Feb. 21), Cornell (Feb. 24) and Loyola (Mar. 3).
Penn State hits the road again for back-to-back contests against James Madison (Mar. 7) and Albany (Mar. 10). PSU then opens Big Ten play as they sandwich a trip to Piscataway to battle Rutgers on Saturday March 17 between a pair of home games against Drexel (Mar. 14) and a rematch of last season's NCAA Quarterfinal against Princeton (Mar. 19). The three games in six days marks the most grueling stretch of the season for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State then battles John Hopkins in its first night game of the season on Thursday March 22. The Lions then have over a week off before embarking on their toughest stretch of the season as they head to Ohio State for another key conference clash in The Shoe on March 31.
PSU then travels to Virginia (April 7) for the first of four straight games against teams who advanced past the first round of last season's NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions then return home against Northwestern on April 14, followed by a trip to College Park to battle the Terrapins on April 19 before traveling to Stony Brook on April 24.
"We thrive for competition," stated Doherty. "That's why I coach, that's why the players play."
Penn State concludes its regular season on Senior Day against Michigan on Saturday April 28.