UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Highlighted with six games against teams that competed in the 2013 NCAA tournament, the 2014 Penn State women's lacrosse schedule was unveiled Tuesday (Oct. 29) by head coach Missy Doherty. In all, the Nittany Lions will play a 16-game regular-season slate, including nine home games, during the season.
In 2014, Penn State will face four non-conference opponents - Loyola, Maryland, Princeton, Virginia - and a pair of league foes in Florida and Northwestern that appeared in last season's NCAA championships. In addition, six teams finished the season in the top 20 of the IWLCA poll, including five top-10 teams.
The 2014 campaign will also mark the final year of the American Lacrosse Conference as Penn State will join the Big Ten in 2015. The Nittany Lions will host league matchups against Michigan, which joined the NCAA ranks in 2014, (March 23) and Northwestern (April 4), while travelling to Vanderbilt (March 15), Florida (March 30) and Ohio State (April 13).
After hosting Penn in an exhibition Feb. 16, Penn State will open the season at Bucknell Feb. 19. The Nittany Lions will then open the home portion of their schedule Saturday, Feb. 22 when they welcome national finalist Maryland. Additional non-conference home games include matchups against Duquesne (Feb. 25), Loyola (March 8), Drexel (March 26), Cornell (April 8), Johns Hopkins (April 19) and Princeton (April 26). Johns Hopkins, a founding member of the ALC, left the league following the 2013 season.
In non-conference action, Penn State will travel to Virginia (Feb. 28), James Madison (March 5) and future Big Ten opponent Rutgers (March 12).
Following the regular season, the Nittany Lions will compete in the ALC championships, hosted by Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., May 1-4. The NCAA championships will begin with first- and second-round play May 9 and 11, and will culminate with the NCAA Final at Towson's Johnny Unitas Stadium May 25.
In 2014, the Nittany Lions will aim to build upon an impressive 2013 campaign. Penn State posted its third straight season with at least 10 wins, while its 14 victories were the program's most since 1999. The Nittany Lions advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the second straight year and appeared in back-to-back NCAA championships for the first time since a three-year span from 1995-97.