HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point University women's lacrosse head coach Lyndsey Boswell has announced the program's 2015 schedule, which features home games against Oregon and Virginia Tech and a contest at North Carolina.
The two-time defending Big South Champion Panthers will play nine home games in 2015 and travel to seven road contests, including non-conference matchups at UNC, Villanova and intra-state rival Elon.
HPU's non-conference opponents posted an average RPI of 43 and a winning percentage of .575 in 2014.
"Our non-conference schedule features some great tests against teams from the ACC, Big East and CAA," Boswell said. "With a new group of leaders and a strong contingent of freshmen joining our program in 2015, this difficult slate will provide some excellent experience for our student-athletes as we head into conference play in April."
HPU opens the 2015 campaign with a home exhibition event on Feb. 7 that features Davidson, Furman and William & Mary.
The Panthers begin the regular season with a contest against North Carolina on Feb. 13 in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels went 15-5 in 2014 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
HPU makes its home debut on Feb. 15 when the Panthers host West Coast-power Oregon at noon inside Vert Stadium. From there, High Point remains at home to take on ACC foe Virginia Tech in a Friday night lights affair on Feb. 20 at 6 p.m.
The Panthers then hit the road to battle CAA stalwart James Madison on Feb. 22. The Dukes have reached the CAA championship game in three of past four seasons and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2011.
HPU returns to Vert Stadium to host a two-game home stand against UMBC (Feb. 28, 2 p.m.) and Vermont (Mar. 3, 6 p.m.). After traveling west for an intra-state battle at Elon on Mar. 11, the Panthers head home to take on former Big South foe Davidson on Mar. 15 at Vert Stadium (2 p.m.).
HPU wraps up the non-conference slate with a trip to Philadelphia to take on Villanova on Mar. 21 at 1 p.m. High Point defeated the Wildcats, 16-8, last season at Vert Stadium.
The Panthers open conference play with two of their first three games on the road. HPU beings with a trip to Gardner-Webb on April 4, then hosts Presbyterian on April 6 at 6 p.m. After heading south for a game at Coastal Carolina on April 10, HPU will play host to Campbell on Sunday, April 12 at 3 p.m.
From there, the Panthers play at Liberty on April 17 before ending the regular season with two-straight home games. The Panthers host Longwood on April 19 (3 p.m.) before wrapping up the regular season against Winthrop. The game against the Eagles will be played either April 24 at 6 p.m. or April 25 at 3 p.m.
The Big South Championship begins on April 28, with semifinal and final action on May 1 and May 3. The event will be hosted by the top-seeded team heading into the tournament.