Nov. 6, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland men's lacrosse coach Dave Cottle has released the Terps' 2008 schedule. The schedule features nine games against 2007 NCAA tournament teams, including eight that finished the season ranked in the USILA coaches' poll.

The Terps are coming off last year's 10-6 campaign that saw them reach the NCAA tournament for the 30th time in the program's history. Maryland will return six starters, including third team All-America midfielder Dan Groot and goalie Brian Phipps, the 2007 ACC Freshman of the Year.

"This is a challenging schedule, but one that we're very excited about," said Cottle. "We have a young, talented team, so I'm eager to see how we progress throughout the season."

Following three weekends of preseason scrimmages with Ohio State, Loyola, Delaware Princeton, Harvard and Binghamton, the 2008 schedule kicks off with three-straight road games. Maryland opens at Georgetown on Feb. 23 before traveling to Emmitsburg, Md., to face Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 26.

The first weekend of March finds Maryland playing its first ACC game of the season at 2007 national runner-up Duke on March 1. The Terps then have a quick turnaround for their first home game of the season on March 3 against 2007 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) champion Providence.

The team hosts Towson on March 8, before playing a Friday night game at UMBC on March 14. The Terps then have another quick turnaround as they host Air Force on Sunday, March 16.

The Terps conclude their ACC schedule with back-to-back games with North Carolina and Virginia the last two weeks of March. Maryland visits the Tar Heels on March 22, before hosting the Cavaliers on March 29. The Maryland-UNC game will be televised by ESPNU, while television for the Virginia game is still being negotiated.

Another pair of nationally televised games on ESPNU follows as the Terps host Navy in primetime Friday, April 4 and travel to Homewood Field for the 104th meeting between Maryland and arch-rival Johns Hopkins on April 12.

Maryland then hosts Penn on April 29 before traveling to Charlottesville, Va., for the 2008 ACC Tournament, which will be held at Virginia's Klöckner Stadium on April 25 and 27.

The final tune-up before the NCAA tournament comes on "Senior Day" on May 3 against Yale. The NCAA Tournament will begin on the weekend on May 10-11 and conclude with the National Championship game on Memorial Day, May 26, in Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.