ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's lacrosse team's 2013 schedule, announced Thursday (Nov. 8), features the Battle at the Big House vs. Ohio State on April 13 as well as the first night lacrosse game in Michigan Stadium history, against Detroit on April 17 at 7 p.m.
In total, U-M will host six home games, five of which will be held in Michigan Stadium. The first home game of the season will pit the Wolverines against Penn State on Feb. 9 in Oosterbaan Field House. The game will count toward the Creator's Trophy, an annual award among U-M, PSU and Ohio State, the three Big Ten Conference schools that sponsor men's lacrosse.
"We're excited to host Penn State in our season opener and welcome back Ohio State for the Battle at the Big House again as part of football's spring game weekend," said Michigan head coach John Paul. "The Creator's Trophy adds to the rivalries we're building with those two programs."
The 2013 season also will mark Michigan's first season as a full-fledged member of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC). The Wolverines will play a seven-game conference schedule, with home games against Loyola (Md.), Air Force and Ohio State and road contests at Bellarmine, Hobart, Fairfield and Denver. The top four teams in the conference standings will qualify for the ECAC Tournament, to be hosted by Hobart April 3-5 in Geneva, N.Y.
Michigan's first ECAC game, at Bellarmine on Feb. 16 in Louisville, Ky., kicks off a stretch of seven straight road games. The road swing also features a matchup against perennial power Johns Hopkins on Feb. 23 in Baltimore, Md., as well as a clash against Army on March 2 at the historic Sun Life Stadium Orange Bowl Classic in Miami, Fla.
The road swing concludes with the Wolverines taking on Colgate on March 17 in a matchup that will be played at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, in Flushing, N.Y.
"Playing Johns Hopkins at historic Homewood Field is a big road matchup for us. The Army game at Sun Life Stadium in Miami and the Colgate game at Citi Field in New York give us great opportunities to play excellent programs in professional stadiums in front of Michigan fans and alums in Florida and the tri-state area," said Paul.
The Wolverines will return home to play Loyola, the 2012 national champion, on March 3, followed by a game against Air Force on March 30. After an April 6 game against Delaware in Newark, Del., the Wolverines will begin a three-game homestand, including the Battle at the Big House vs. Ohio State (April 13), the night game against Detroit (April 17), and a matchup against St. Joseph's (April 20).
Michigan will conclude the regular season with a visit to Denver on April 27.
"Our 2013 schedule is certainly as challenging as last year's," said Paul. "The ECAC is as tough as ever, and we have some very special non-conference games on top of that."