ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Twelve home dates and a late-season trip to Durham, N.C. to take on ACC power Duke highlight the 2010 Navy women's lacrosse schedule, as announced by head coach Cindy Timchal.

"We're very excited about where we are at right now," said Timchal. "As a program, we have made tremendous strides in our first two seasons of varsity competition and I think this year's schedule is reflective of that growth."

The Midshipmen, who have posted a 26-9 mark in the program's first two Division I seasons, will play their first five and eight of their first nine contests at home, beginning with the season opener against Howard on February 6.

The season-long, year-opening home stand will be capped off on February 21 by a match-up with a Longwood squad which won 11 games a year ago. The Blue & Gold will be looking to exact a bit of revenge on the Lancers, who dealt Navy its only loss in its first-seven games of 2009.

Playing in the friendly confines of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Navy has turned in an impressive 18-3 record (.857) over the last two years, including a perfect 11-0 mark during its inaugural campaign in 2008.

On February 27, the Mids will hit the road for the first time on the spring, traveling to Davidson for the third meeting with the Wildcats in as many seasons.

The following weekend, Navy is back in Annapolis where it will start a three-game home stand on March 5 against Monmouth, who has averaged 12 wins a season since 2006, before hosting a second-year Fresno State program on March 7.

The addition of William & Mary to the Navy schedule on March 10 further reflects the success of the upstart Midshipmen program. In 2009, the Tribe went 10-7, captured their second-consecutive CAA regular season title and ranked 20th in the IWLCA final regular season poll.

"William & Mary is a program with a long and rich lacrosse history," said Timchal. "Year-in and year-out they are contenders in the very competitive CAA. It will be a real challenge, but we're excited to bring an opponent of that caliber to Annapolis."

Beginning with its Patriot League opener at Lafayette on March 13, Navy alternates away and home games over its final eight regular-season contests. The Mids have captured both meetings in the series, outscoring the Leopards by a combined 40-17 margin.

After hosting Manhattan on March 18, the Mids will travel to Duke on March 21 to take on a team which produced a 15-6 overall record, reached the Elite Eight in last season's NCAA Tournament and finished the year ranked fifth nationally.

Timchal hopes the date with the Blue Devils, who have made 12 consecutive NCAA Tournament trips and reached the national semifinals four times in the last five years, will help prepare the Mids for a season-ending stretch of five-straight Patriot League games.

"We're very excited about the opportunity to add Duke to the schedule," said the esteemed Mids' mentor. "They are consistently one of the top programs in the country. Heading to Durham will be an uphill battle, but we want our girls to be battle-tested and ready to go for what is sure to be a challenging Patriot League schedule."

With team captain and two-time defending league-scoring champion Erin Rawlick leading the way, optimism is high for a Navy team that returns 10 starters and its top-nine scorers from a year ago.

The Mids will host conference foes Holy Cross on March 27 before making their third trek up to Hamilton, N.Y. in as many seasons on April 3 to take on two-time defending league champion Colgate. Expect a close game when the Crusaders and Mids take the field in Annapolis. The two teams have played to one-goal decisions (both Navy victories) in each of the last two seasons. Meanwhile, the Colgate game, a rematch of the '09 championship game, should prove to be a strong litmus test for the Mids.

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2009-10-05