The Maryland women’s lacrosse team unveiled its 2019 schedule Wednesday, featuring a trip to reigning champions James Madison as well as a home game against North Carolina.
The Terps are facing a loaded schedule this season, playing five of IWLCA’s end-of-season top-10 schools. Three of those contests are road games, the farthest being a trip to Gainesville, Florida.
“We are really excited to get out on the field this spring,” coach Cathy Reese said in a statement. “We can’t wait to compete against a challenging schedule.”
Maryland opens its season Feb. 9 against George Mason, playing at Maryland Stadium in the first of four doubleheaders with the men’s team. Due to construction at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex, the Terps will play weekend home games this year at Maryland Stadium and midweek contests at Ludwig Field, where the soccer teams normally play.
Maryland has not faced George Mason since 2011, when the team dispatched the Patriots, 21-2. The other three doubleheaders will be against Ohio State (March 16), Michigan (April 6) and Johns Hopkins (April 27).
[Read more: Maryland women’s lacrosse leads nation with 9 preseason All-Americans]
The schedule gets tougher after that, with games against North Carolina and Florida highlighting a difficult 10-day stretch for the Terps in mid-February. The last five regular season contests with the Tar Heels have been decided by three goals or less, and the Gators reached the quarterfinals in the NCAA tournament last year.
Maryland will play UMBC, Hofstra, Syracuse and Penn before opening Big Ten play against Ohio State on March 16. Conference matchups were a clear strength for the Terps last year, with the team going undefeated throughout as part of their 20-2 season.
In between games against Penn State and Princeton, the Terps travel to reigning national champions James Madison on March 24. Maryland beat the Dukes, 15-12, in a home contest last year. James Madison returns only six starters from 2018’s title-winning squad.
After facing Rutgers on March 30, the Terps will play Virginia in their last nonconference road matchup of the regular season. The team will meet Michigan and Northwestern, too, in early April.
The Terps conclude the season with home matchups against Georgetown and final-four hosts Johns Hopkins. Maryland beat both teams last year by a comfortable margin.
Big Ten tournament play begins on May 3 at Johns Hopkins. The NCAA tournament commences a week later, and the final four will take place on May 24 as the Terps look to return to the top of college lacrosse after falling in the semifinals last year.
