LEXINGTON, Va. - After a year with just four games in Lexington, the Virginia Military Institute men’s lacrosse team has announced its schedule for the 2014 season, which features seven home games, including two against service academies.
VMI has one scrimmage date on the calendar as the Keydets head to Bellarmine University on Jan. 25. VMI will play two games in Louisville, Ky., one against the host institution and the second against Division II startup Tusculum College. VMI and Tusculum have a strong connection; the Pioneers’ head coach, Richard Carrington, was an assistant at VMI for the 2012 season, while his associate head coach, Tony Mackin, was an assistant in Lexington from 2010-13.
For a seventh-straight season, the Keydets open the regular season at the United States Naval Academy. Game time is set for noon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The Keydets will host seven different opponents in Lexington this season, including two night games on Post for the first time ever. All seven home games will be played on North Post at Drill Field #2.
VMI hosts its first opponent, the United States Military Academy, on Feb. 15 at noon, before getting on the road again. On Feb. 22, the Keydets head to the City of Brotherly Love to face former MAAC foe Saint Joseph’s University at noon on Sweeney Field.
VMI will play back-to-back games on March 1 and March 2 as the Keydets host University of Detroit Mercy at noon. The next day, VMI takes on the United States Air Force Academy, also at noon. This marks the first time in program history the team will face all three NCAA Division I service academies in the same season.
On March 5, VMI rounds out the three-game home stand with the Catamounts of the University of Vermont for the program’s first night game at North Post. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
VMI will play its first-ever game in the Atlantic Sun Conference on March 8 as it takes on second-year program High Point University. Game time for the first meeting between the programs is set for noon in High Point, N.C.
The Keydets will play just two back-to-back road games in 2014. Following the game at High Point, VMI will head to Macon, Ga. for another A-Sun clash, facing Mercer University on March 15. Game time is slated for noon.
VMI returns to Lexington on March 18 for a game with long-time foe Wagner College. The Keydets and Seahawks meet under the lights of Drill Field #2 at 7 p.m.
After a week off, the Keydets head south again to take on Jacksonville University, which like VMI, moves from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to the Atlantic Sun. Game time in northern Florida is set for 1 p.m.
Another first-time meeting is set for April 12 as the Keydets welcome Furman University to town. The A-Sun clash is set for 1 p.m. at Drill Field #2.
The Keydets head to Buffalo, N.Y. for one last non-conference matchup as they take on former MAAC opponent Canisius College at 2 p.m. VMI returns home for the regular season finale against first-year University of Richmond at noon, a contest that will serve as senior day for the program.
Information on the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament will be announced at a later date.