Mount St. Mary's Lacrosse Schedule: These Pants Look Better on You

PROGRAM SCHEDULE PROPAGANDA: UNRELEASED
THIS IS WHY WE FIGHT: THE SCHEDULE

Last season was ugly -- gruesome, grisly, grotesque, Grim-Reaper-at-your-door-beckoning-you-to-the-beyond -- for Mount St. Mary's. The team's 1-15 record -- 6.25 winning percentage -- was the second-worst mark in program history, eclipsed by only the program's 0-5 mark in its inaugural effort in 1970. The Mountaineers' reality last spring isn't indicative of what The Mount has been in its history, and 2015 provides as much hope as it does in erasing the memories of complete and total pain from a year ago.

Here are some schedule highlights and games of note:

Relief
February 14: at VMI; March 7: v. Furman; March 11: Richmond

The Mount faced a schedule in 2014 that was so far above its head that it should've been classified as a HALO drop. The team's slate ranked 38th nationally in LaxPower's method for ranking strength of schedule, and that run of opponents contributed -- in a significant way -- to the team's 1-15 record a season ago. This coming spring, though, the Mountaineers will find some relief in the quality of opponent that Mount St. Mary's will face, replacing Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Virginia, and Manhattan with VMI, Furman, and Richmond. The former two teams are directly within the Mount's wheelhouse, offering two strong opportunities to bag kills and create a little internal momentum as Mount St. Mary's continues to generate experience for a roster that changed over in important ways between the 2013 and 2014 seasons. There's no shame in finding competition more in tune with the melody the Mountaineers are playing, and taking a break from trading solos with some of the nation's most decorated programs could provide Mount St. Mary's with beats that help them find a sound ending.

Avoid Defending the Title
February 14: at VMI; March 7: v. Furman; March 21: at Wagner

The Mount won last season's Reverse Survivor championship, a title awarded to the last Division I team to win a game against Division I competition (first-year programs are not eligible for the championship). It took the Mountaineers until April 19th to earn its first -- and ultimately only -- win of the year, dropping Wagner in Emmitsburg to avoid a winless campaign. The team's 2015 schedule sets the Mountaineers up well to avoid defending its ignominious honor: Running against the Keydets at the sunrise of the team's season offers the opportunity to bow out of the competition nice and early; an early-March meeting with Furman in Myrtle Beach allows the team to move into the light before true contenders emerge; and a March 21st date with Wagner creates a potential Reverse Survivor-off before the calendar turns to April. The Mount would need eminent sadness in order to repeat its title run from a season ago.