ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Entering his 15th season as Navy's head men's lacrosse coach, Richie Meade announced the Mids' 2009 schedule that features games against seven opponents who ended their 2008 campaign nationally ranked. Among the seven are five programs that earned NCAA Tournament berths, including Ohio State, Colgate and Maryland, who will all battle the Midshipmen at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium this spring.

Navy is on tap to play a pair of scrimmages (Jan. 24 at UMBC, Jan. 31 vs. Virginia) prior to officially kicking off the season on Feb. 7 at home against VMI. The Mids' meeting against the Keydets marks the second consecutive year the two military institutions have met in the sport's earliest documented start. Navy claimed last year's inaugural meeting versus VMI, 10-2, in Annapolis. Game time for the Mids' opener is slated for 12:00 pm.

In what will be a must-see matchup on Valentine's Day (12:00 pm) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the Mids will play host to an Ohio State team that finished the 2008 campaign with an 11-6 record and made the program's first NCAA Tournament quarterfinal appearance. Navy escaped The Shoe in Columbus, Ohio a year ago with an 8-7 decision thanks to midfielder Michael Beggins' (Smithtown, N.Y.) game-winner in overtime. The Buckeyes, however, not only lost two of their top three scorers (Kevin Buchanan 44-32-76 & Peet Poillon 32-8-40), they will be under the direction of first-year head coach Nick Myers after long-time head coach Joe Breschi departed to become the head coach at his alma mater, North Carolina.

Speaking of North Carolina, the Mids' trip to Chapel Hill on Feb. 20 will kick off three consecutive games played on the road. Though a scheduling hiccup prevented the two programs from meeting during the regular season for the first time since 1995, the Mids and Tar Heels met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Navy, who was thumped by Carolina in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, 12-8, avenged that loss by handling the fourth-seeded Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, 8-7, to advance to the quarterfinals. Navy owns a slight 12-11 advantage in the series, winning six of the last seven games.

Though the Navy-North Carolina game has occasionally been played on a Friday night in Annapolis, this year's Friday night battle is the first to be played in Chapel Hill in recent memory. Game time is set for 7:30 pm at Fetzer Field.

The following week Navy will open its Patriot League ledger in Lewisburg, Pa. where it will square off against Bucknell. The Mids own a 5-2 edge in the series and since joining the league in 2004, Navy has won four of the five games including three straight. The Bison return their top two scorers from last year's team that narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament with a 10-5 record. In a one-two punch, Austin Winter paced the team with 52 points on a team-best 33 assists to go along with 19 goals, while Tim Brandau owned a team-best 29 goals and six assists.

Navy concludes play on the road with a midweek contest at Mount St. Mary's on March 3 (3:00 pm). The Mids, who will make their first trip to Emmitsburg since 2002, have never lost to The Mount in their six previous meetings.

Navy will get a brief reprieve from road play when it plays host to league foe Lafayette on March 7 (12:00 pm). The Midshipmen have opened up a 9-0 series advantage over the Leopards, including a 5-0 edge in games since joining the league. The Leopards boast the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year Tom Perini, who turned in 30 points on a team-high 27 goals and three assists.

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2008-12-02