Moon Township, Pa. -- Robert Morris University womens lacrosse head coach Katy Phillips recently announced the unveiling of the Colonials 2008 womens lacrosse schedule along with the addition of former McDaniel standout Erika Walker to the coaching staff.

After a breakout season last year, coach Phillips believes that the Colonials upcoming 16-game slate is just what the team needs to make an impact in the Northeast Conference this season.

We are really excited for this upcoming season, said Phillips. We will have our first season with four full recruiting classes and we have a great balance of home and away games. Our non-conference competition is competitive and will present a great challenge for our squad to compete in conference play and for an NEC title.

The 2008 schedule includes several familiar opponents including Duquesne, Ohio State and Davidson while new foes Cincinnati, Louisville and Navy add new competition in hopes of an NEC post-season run.

Robert Morris starts the season off with a two-game road trip, taking the Colonials south to take first-year programs Cincinnati (Feb.29) and Louisville (Mar.2) before returning home to host cross town rival Duquesne (Mar.5) at Joe Walton Stadium. Two more home games follow as Davidson (Mar.7) and Canisius (Mar.14) make the trip to Moon Township.

Embarking on a three-game road trip, Robert Morris visits Ohio State (Mar.16) before jumping into Northeast Conference play with games against Mount St. Marys (Mar.20) and Wagner (Mar.22).

Returning home, the Colonials host Sacred Heart (Mar.28) in an NEC tilt followed with a match up against non-conference foe Bucknell (Mar.30).

After the game against the Bison, Robert Morris heads on a two-game road trip to Connecticut as the Colonials take on Quinnipiac (Apr.4) and Central Connecticut State (Apr.6) before two games at home against Long Island (Apr.11) and 2007 NEC champion Monmouth (Apr.13).

RMU finishes up the road portion of the schedule with a trip to Annapolis to face Navy (Apr.16) before returning home to host Saint Francis (Pa.) in the Colonials 2008 season finale.

Joining coach Phillips this season on the sidelines is new assistant coach Erika Walker. She is responsible for instructing the goalkeepers as well as assisting in daily operations of the program.

Walker joins the Colonials after spending this past year serving as a physical education teacher and womens lacrosse coach at the Malvern College in Worcestershire, England. She coached lacrosse to seven different age levels along with guiding the varsity program to a birth in the small schools championships in 2007.

Prior to coaching, Walker earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with a minor in sociology from McDaniel College in 2006. While at McDaniel, she played four years of varsity lacrosse as a defenseman for the Green Terror. During her sophomore campaign, McDaniel set a school record of 13 wins against four losses to finish second overall in the Centennial Conference.

February
29 (Fri.)   @ Cincinnati        Cincinnati, Oh.      4:00 p.m.
 
March
2 (Sun.)    @ Louisville        Louisville, Ky.      1:00 p.m.
5 (Wed.)    DUQUESNE            Moon Township, Pa.   4:00 p.m.
7 (Fri.)    DAVIDSON            Moon Township, Pa.   12:00 p.m.
14 (Fri.)   CANISIUS            Moon Township, Pa.   4:00 p.m.
16 (Sun.)   @ Ohio State        Columbus, Oh.        1:00 p.m.
20 (Thur.)  @ Mount St. Marys*  Emmitsburg, Md.      3:00 p.m.
22 (Sat.)   @ Wagner*           Staten Island, N.Y.  12:00 p.m.
28 (Fri.)   SACRED HEART*       Moon Township, Pa.   4:00 p.m.
30 (Sun.)   BUCKNELL            Moon Township, Pa.   1:00 p.m.
 
April
4 (Fri.)    @ Quinnipiac*       Hamden, Conn.        3:00 p.m.
6 (Sun.)    @ Central Conn.*    New Britain, Conn.   12:00 p.m.
11 (Fri.)   LONG ISLAND*        Moon Township, Pa.   4:00 p.m.
13 (Sun.)   MONMOUTH*           Moon Township, Pa.   12:00 p.m.
16 (Wed.)   @ Navy              Annapolis, Md.       4:00 p.m.
20 (Sun.)   SAINT FRANCIS*      Moon Township, Pa.   12:00 p.m.
25 (Fri.)   NEC Tournament      TBA                  TBA
27 (Sun.)   NEC Tournament      TBA                  TBA

* Northeast Conference game
Home games CAPS
All home games played at Joe Walton Stadium, Moon Township, Pa.

2007-11-27