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PROGRAM SCHEDULE PROPAGANDA: PRESS RELEASE
THIS IS WHY WE FIGHT: THE SCHEDULE
Here are some schedule highlights and games of note:
MAACtion
March 14: at Siena; March 21: Detroit; March 28: Marist; April 4: at Manhattan; April 11: at Canisius; April 18: Monmouth
Quinnipiac had a pretty solid run through the MAAC in the program's first effort in the conference: At 3-3, the Bobcats were squarely in the hunt for a postseason bid, failing to progress to the league's postseason tournament only due to the conference's tiebreaking bazooka being turned in the Bobcats' direction. Against the league's three best teams (according to LaxPower and not including Quinnipiac), however, the Bobcats experienced a degree of struggle: The team went 0-3 against Marist, Siena, and Canisius with a -13 goal differential and an average margin of defeat of over four goals. Chewing up the bottom of the conference illustrated that the Bobcats were uniquely prepared to enter its new situation with competence, but taking three losses at the hands of the MAAC's stronger teams shows a degree of developmental necessity.
And this is the thing about 2015: About 40 percent of the team's starts from 2014 have disappeared due to the incurable virus called "Graduation." Transition exists in Hamden, and simply maintaining the team's position in the MAAC next spring would serve as a solid platform for the program going into 2016. Things started well for Quinnipiac in its new home last season, and keeping stuff afloat -- even if it means falling to the conference's best teams -- is a major theme for the 'Cats this coming spring.
Nutmeg
April 15: at Fairfield; March 7: Hartford
The Bobcats will face half of the Connecticut-based teams it could face in Division I competition. It's almost hard to believe that with five programs running at college lacrosse's highest level -- Fairfield, Hartford, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, and Yale -- that the state ranks fourth nationally in programs per state (New York (15), Pennsylvania (nine), and Maryland (seven) are the only states that outpace the Constitution State). A seven-team MAAC helps preclude the Bobcats from playing more schools with Connecticut addresses, but putting two teams from the state on the team's slate for the coming spring is still pretty solid for Connecticut lacrosse.