Oct. 24, 2007

BALTIMORE, MD -- Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala announced the Blue Jays' 13-game regular-season schedule for the 2008 season today. The Blue Jays will once again play one of the most difficult schedules in the nation as 10 of their 13 games are against teams that qualified for the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Seven of the 13 are scheduled for Homewood Field and JHU's 13 opponents compiled a combined record of 127-75 (.629) last season.

"We feel strongly that playing the most difficult schedule in the nation will prepare us to compete in the NCAA Tournament each May," Pietramala noted. "Playing the top teams in the nation each week is part of what makes playing at Johns Hopkins so special and makes our program attractive to talented student-athletes."

The 13-game regular-season schedule is the just the fifth in school history (1993, 1997, 1998, 2007). After opening the season at home against Albany on February 23 the Blue Jays will take part in the second annual Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Classic at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium. The Johns Hopkins-Princeton game will be the second game in the Face-Off Classic doubleheader that will lead off with Virginia playing Syracuse. The event will once again feature the four teams that have captured every NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship since 1992 and all but nine titles since the inception of the NCAA Tournament in 1971.

A challenging opening month of the season will also include home games against UMBC, Syracuse and North Carolina and road games at Hofstra and Virginia. UMBC and North Carolina both advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals last season, while Virginia was also an NCAA Tournament Team.

April opens with a rematch of the 2005 and 2007 NCAA Championship games as the Blue Jays travel to Durham, North Carolina to take on Duke on April 5. Hopkins will play three of its next four games at home with a Homecoming tilt against long-time rival Maryland on April 12 highlighting the stretch. A trip to Navy on April 19 will be followed by home games against Towson and Mount St. Mary's. Hopkins will close the regular season with its annual Charles Street showdown with Loyola.

Johns Hopkins posted a 13-4 record and defeated Duke, 12-11, on Memorial Day to win the 2007 NCAA Championship game. The Blue Jays will carry a nine-game winning streak into the 2008 season, during which Hopkins will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the program.

2008 Johns Hopkins Men's Lacrosse Schedule

Feb. 23 Albany - Noon
Mar. 1 Princeton (@ M&T Bank Stadium) - 2:30 pm
Mar. 4 UMBC - 7 pm
Mar. 8 @ Hofstra - 1 pm
Mar. 15 Syracuse - Noon
Mar. 22 @ Virginia -2 pm
Mar. 29 North Carolina - 2 pm
Apr. 5 @ Duke - 1 pm
Apr. 12 Maryland - 2 pm
Apr. 19 @ Navy -Noon
Apr. 23 Towson -7 pm
Apr. 28 Mount St. Mary's - 7 pm
May 3 @ Loyola - 1 pm
May 10-11 NCAA First Round ^ - TBA
May 17-18 NCAA Quarterfinals # -TBA
May 24 NCAA Semifinals % -TBA
May 26 NCAA Championship % -TBA

^ NCAA First Round games on campus sites
# NCAA Quarterfinals at Cornell and Navy
& Gilette Stadium (Foxboro, MA)

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