HAMILTON, N.Y. (11/29/11) – Colgate men’s lacrosse head coach Mike Murphy has announced the 2012 men’s lacrosse schedule, which will include nine home matchups and five road games as well as eight non-conference games, six of which will be played in Hamilton, N.Y.
“We are very excited in anticipation of the 2012 season,” stated Murphy. “The 2012 schedule is packed with great teams that will certainly challenge our players. We open with a very talented and physical Bryant team that is coached by one of the best coaches in our game. Each opponent will test our mental and physical resolve.”
After a pair of scrimmages against Delaware and Cornell, the Raiders will open the 2012 season at home with a matchup against Bryant on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. This will be the first meeting in program history between the two teams. Colgate will then continue its homestand with a pair of games against Vermont and Dartmouth on Feb. 18 and 25 before returning to the road to play Robert Morris in their first game in March. The team dropped a 9-4 decision to the Catamounts last season before going on to defeat the Big Green and the Colonials in its next two games.
Patriot League play will begin with a road game against Holy Cross on March 10, after a home matchup against Hobart the week before. The Raiders will then take a break with non-conference games against Binghamton and Fairfield before hosting Navy in its second league game on March 24. Colgate will play its next four games against league opponents starting with Army on March 31, which it defeated in the 2011 PL Tournament Semifinals, before hosting Lehigh and Lafayette on April 7 and 14 respectively. Its final regular-season conference matchup will be on the road against defending 2011 PL Tournament Champion Bucknell on April 21 in a rematch of last season’s championship game in Lewisburg, Pa.
“This year the Patriot League may be the toughest and deepest it has ever been,” Murphy said. “We open with Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. where the Crusaders are always a dangerous foe. Coach Morrissey is creating a great culture and our guys will need to bring their “A” game. The Naval Academy will visit Hamilton to open up the home portion of our league schedule. The Mids will be looking for revenge after last year’s game (Colgate defeated Navy on the road). Playing at West Point is a great opportunity for any team. The Black Knights return the top attackman in the league as well as a highly touted recruiting class to join an already veteran group. I know that our guys will be very excited to play in historic Michie Stadium. It is always a game that attracts many Colgate fans that live or work in the New York City area.
“I think Lehigh may be the most dangerous team on our schedule. The team returns a great nucleus of veteran players. The Mountain Hawks have a physical defense and a high-powered offense. The Lafayette Leopards are another team that returns a good group of players and gave us all we could handle last year. We finish the Patriot League portion of our schedule with a trip to defending PL Champion Bucknell and know we will have our hands full. The Bison return many of the top players in our league and are always tough at home.”
This year’s Patriot League Tournament is set for April 27 – 29. The top four teams in the league standings will qualify for the tournament that will be hosted by the highest seed. The Raiders entered last season’s tournament as the No. 2 seed, eventually falling to No. 1 seed Bucknell in the championship game.
Colgate finishes its regular season with a home contest against 2011 NCAA Tournament runner-up Maryland on May 5. The team is 1-6 all-time against the Terps, defeating them for the first time in program history last season 10-8 in College Park, Md.
“We have a great competitive schedule this season and our guys know it is going to take our very best each day for us to be successful,” Murphy stated. “Last year’s team showed us what it takes to succeed at a high level and we need to learn from the past so we can make our goals realities.”
