AMHERST, Mass. - Five teams from the 2008 NCAA Tournament including four-time defending National Champion Northwestern highlight the University of Massachusetts women's lacrosse schedule for the upcoming 2009 season. The Minutewomen will open the season on February 17 at Holy Cross. The Northwestern game will be the first-ever women's lacrosse night game at McGuirk Stadium with a 7:00 PM opening draw on March 25.

"The non-conference schedule for us will be very challenging this year and we will have a very good idea of where we are as a program after the first few games," said third-year head coach Alexis Venechanos. "The conference schedule will be as strong as ever with several key games at home against four great programs."

"This will be an exciting game for our program," said Venechanos. "Obviously the draw of playing the defending national champion adds excitement to your schedule, but playing a night game in McGuirk and the atmosphere that will surround it will make this a great event for us and our fans."

Following the Holy Cross season-opener, UMass will head to 2008 NCAA Quarterfinalists Maryland (February 21) and Boston University (February 25). The Maryland game will be a homecoming for Venechanos and UMass associate head coach Acacia Walker. Venechanos graduated from Maryland in 2003, while Walker was a 2005 graduate.

A trip to Harvard on February 28 will close out UMass' four-game road stretch to open the season. The Minutewomen will open the home slate at McGuirk Stadium on March 4 against Dartmouth before heading back on the road to face fellow Ivy Leaguer Yale on March 11.

Stony Brook and UMass will face each other for the first time on March 14 at McGuirk, before the Minutewomen renew the program's oldest rivalry with the 38th all-time meeting against New Hampshire on March 18. The Wildcats earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament last season and finished the year ranked 13th in the IWLCA top-20 poll.

Following the Northwestern game, UMass will start Atlantic 10 action on the road at La Salle (March 27) and at Saint Joseph's (March 29). After the opening road trip, the Minutewomen will host four straight A-10 matches against Richmond (April 3), George Washington (April 5), defending A-10 Champion and NCAA Tournament qualifier Temple (April 11) and Duquesne (April 17).

The regular-season finale will be on the road at St. Bonaventure on April 19. The Atlantic 10 Tournament will be held on April 24-26 at Temple University in Philadelphia.

The Minutewomen finished the 2008 season with a 7-11 overall record and a 4-3 mark in the Atlantic 10. UMass defeated top-seeded Richmond in the A-10 Tournament semifinals before falling to Temple in the Championship Game last season.

UMass is also pleased to announce that every home game of the 2009 season will be available to watch online through the UMass All-Access package. For complete details about the All-Access Streaming Video Package and to sign up, go to the UMass Online Watch & Listen page.

For the third year, all home games will be played in McGuirk Stadium on the UMass campus

Date    Opponent / Event       Location                   Time
 
02/17   at Holy Cross          Worcester, Mass.        3:00 PM ET
02/21   at Maryland            College Park, Md.      12:00 PM ET
02/25   at Boston University   Boston, Mass.           3:00 PM ET
02/28   at Harvard             Cambridge, Mass.        1:00 PM ET
 
03/04   vs. Dartmouth          Amherst, Mass.          3:00 PM ET
03/11   at Yale                New Haven, Conn.        3:00 PM ET
03/14   vs. Stony Brook        Amherst, Mass.         12:00 PM ET
03/18   at New Hampshire       Durham, N.H.            3:00 PM ET
03/25   vs. Northwestern       Amherst, Mass.          7:00 PM ET
03/27   at La Salle *          Philadelphia, Pa.       4:00 PM ET
03/29   at Saint Joseph's *    Philadelphia, Pa.       1:00 PM ET
 
04/03   vs. Richmond *         Amherst, Mass.          3:00 PM ET
04/05   vs. George Washington *Amherst, Mass.          1:00 PM ET
04/11   vs. Temple *           Amherst, Mass.          1:00 PM ET
04/17   vs. Duquesne *         Amherst, Mass.          3:00 PM ET
04/19   at St. Bonaventure *   St. Bonaventure, N.Y.  12:00 PM ET
 
04/24   Atlantic 10 Semifinals Philadelphia, Pa. (Temple)

2008-12-15