No. 3 Tar Heels MLAX ready for challenging schedule

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network
Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The preseason third-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels men’s lacrosse team will once again have many eyes on it throughout the upcoming 2014 season.

UNC finished 13-4 last year and won the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament championship for the first time since 1996.

With the television schedule almost fully set, North Carolina formally announced its playing schedule on Monday.

The Tar Heels will be featured in six games that are slated for national television coverage on ESPNU with additional dates to be announced in the near future.

Confirmed televised-game opponents are all preseason-ranked teams including No. 10 Princeton (Mar. 7), No. 1 Duke (Mar. 15), No. 6 Maryland (Mar. 22), No. 13 Johns Hopkins (Mar. 29), No. 8 Virginia (Apr. 5) and No. 2 Syracuse (Apr.) 12.

Two highlights in the Tar Heels schedule include facing off against the Terrapins in Kenan Stadium and taking on the Orange for the first time since 1996.

UNC opens the season on the road at Furman on Sun., Feb. 9 and will welcome the Paladins into NCAA Division I play in their first-ever game led by Tar Heels alumnus Richie Meade who is also currently the coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team.

The Tar Heels will host the Manhattan Jaspers at Fetzer Field the following week on Sat., Feb. 15 while continuing a schedule that will see them host seven games and traveling to play in another six.

The ACC Tournament will take place in Chester, Pa. on Apr. 25 and 27 with the qualifying field consisting of the top four finishers from conference regular-season play.

UNC Tar Heels – 2014 Schedule

Sun., Feb. 9, at Furman, Greenville, S.C., 2 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 15, Manhattan, Chapel Hill, 1 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 22, Dartmouth, Chapel Hill, 2 p.m.

Sat., March 1, Notre Dame, Chapel Hill, 12 Noon

Fri., March 7, at Princeton, Princeton, N.J., 5:30 p.m., ESPNU

Tues., March 11, Bucknell, Chapel Hill, 4 p.m.

Sat., March 15, at Duke, Durham, N.C., 2 p.m., ESPNU

Tues., March 18, Harvard, Chapel Hill, 7 p.m.

Sat., March 22, Maryland, Chapel Hill (Kenan Stadium), 2 p.m., ESPNU

Sat., March 29, at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Md., 2 p.m., ESPNU

Sat., April 5, Virginia, Chapel Hill, 3 p.m., ESPNU

Sat., April 12, at Syracuse, Syracuse, N.Y., 6 p.m., ESPNU

Fri., April 18, at High Point, High Point, N.C., 7 p.m.

ACC TOURNAMENT (Top 4 qualifers from regular season)

Fri., April 25, Semifinals, Chester Pa.

Sun., April 27, Finals, Chester, Pa.