Endicott Men's Lacrosse Finalizes 2015 Schedule

Posted: Dec 18, 2014

2015 Endicott Men's Lacrosse Schedule

BEVERLY, Mass. – Two-thousand and fifteen will be the 20^th season for the Endicott men's lacrosse program and, as it has been in years past, 18^th year head coach Sean Quirk (227-93, .709 W/L Pct) has stuffed his regular season schedule full with some of nation's top teams and regional powerhouses while also focusing on their annual trip through the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) slate.

The Gulls aim for the eighth conference championship and first since the 2011 after earning an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament last spring courtesy of a 14-4 (8-0 CCC) record and appearance in CCC Championship game. Endicott went on to host Keene State in the NCAA First Round and defeated the Owls 13-10. In their second round pitting with sixth-ranked and New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) champion Tufts, the Gulls narrowly upset the Jumbos on their own turf by falling 10-9. Tufts went on to win the 2014 NCAA Championship.

With a preseason rank of #11, according to Inside Lacrosse (IL) Magazine's 2015 Face-off Yearbook NCAA DIII Top 20 Rankings, the Gulls will meet two other programs that will also head into the spring with a national ranking including the defending NCAA champions Tufts. The Jumbos, who will visit Endicott Stadium on Tuesday, April 7^th, sit atop IL's board after capturing their program's second national title.

Endicott will also meet IL's preseason #7 Lynchburg, winners of the ODAC Championship and NCAA Second Round qualifiers, for the first time in program history on Tuesday, March 10^th at home. That game comes at the end of a four-game home stand near the start of the regular season that also includes Endicott's home opener against CCC Semifinalist Roger Williams (February 25^th), NESCAC Quarterfinalist Connecticut College (March 4^th), and New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) champions and NCAA Second Round qualifier Springfield (March 7^th).

Also sprinkled into Endicott's conference schedule are the usual bevies of NESCAC powers. In back-to-back road games, the Gulls play NCAA Second Round team and NESCAC Finalist Amherst on March 13^th followed by quarterfinalist Middlebury on March 17^th. After a pair of CCC games on March 21^st (home vs Salve Regina) and March 31^st (away vs Wentworth) on the outside of spring break, the Blue and Green will again face two straight NESCAC foes in Bowdoin (April 4^th) and the previously mentioned Jumbos (April 7^th). Bowdoin qualified for NESCAC Tournament play in 2014, falling in the first round.

Endicott will honor one of their most talented recruiting classes to-date on Saturday, April 11^th for Senior Day festivities following their CCC game versus Nichols. One week later, the Gulls travel to Springfield for a rematch of the 2014 CCC Championship with Western New England who earned the league's automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Tournament but were ousted in the opening round by Springfield.

After the regular season finale, a home game versus CCC opponent Curry on April 22^nd, Endicott anticipates entry into the CCC Tournament which will be on April 25^th (quarterfinals), April 29^th (semifinals), and May 2^nd (finals). Endicott aim for their eighth conference championship and first since the 2011 season.

The 2015 Endicott men's lacrosse season opens on Sunday, February 22^nd at Empire 8 powerhouse Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.