Syracuse men’s lacrosse will play a 14-game regular season schedule in 2008 for only the second time in school history, it announced Monday.

The Orange will play Villanova for the first time since 1991, and play the same 13 other opponents from last season.

Syracuse was 5-8 last season, missing the NCAA playoffs for the first time since 1982. Seven of its 2008 opponents made the 16-team tournament in 2007.

For the second year in a row, SU will take on Virginia in Baltimore on March 1 as a part of the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Classic. The Orange also plays defending national champion Johns Hopkins in Baltimore on March 15. Hopkins defeated SU 17-9 last year at the Carrier Dome.

The nine Syracuse home games are Villanova (Feb. 17), Army (Feb. 24), Georgetown (March 9), Binghamton (March 22), Loyola (Md.) (March 29), Princeton (April 5), Albany (April 19) and Massachusetts (April 26).

NCAA quarterfinals will be held in Annapolis, Md., and Ithaca this year. The final four is at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., for the first time ever.

SU opens its season with scrimmages vs. Le Moyne and Hofstra on Feb. 2 at the Dome.

-by Matt Gelb, sports editor

Published on November 5, 2007 at 12:00 pm