GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum College women's lacrosse team faces a challenging 17-game schedule when it begins its third season on Saturday, Feb. 4 against Erskine.

2017 Tusculum Women's Lacrosse Schedule

Head coach Jenna Handshoe's squad reached double figures in wins for the second straight year in 2016, going 11-6 overall and earning its first-ever South Atlantic Conference Championship tournament victory. Five of the team's top seven scorers and a total of nine starters are back from last year's squad, which will play eight SAC games and nine non-conference contests. Six of the Pioneers' eight non-conference opponents participated in postseason play a year ago, with five finishing with a .500 record or better.

The Pioneers travel to Erskine for the season opener on Saturday, Feb. 4. The Flying Fleet went 0-10 overall and 0-8 in Conference Carolinas last season, including a 19-3 loss to the Pioneers in Greeneville in the season opener.

Tusculum hosts Converse on Saturday, Feb. 18 in the first of seven home games. The Valkyries were 3-11 last season and finished 2-6 in Conference Carolinas, and will be making their first-ever trip to Greeneville after hosting the Pioneers in each of the last two years. Last season, the Pioneers defeated the Valkyries 23-12 after winning 13-8 in the program's first-ever match in 2015.

The Pioneers will be home on Wednesday, Feb. 22 to face the University of Virginia's College at Wise. The Cavaliers went 11-5 last season and were eliminated in the Mountain East Conference semifinals after going 4-2 in league play. The Pioneers have won both of their previous meetings with the Cavaliers, including 22-18 on the road last season.

Tusculum continues its non-conference schedule with a trip to Pfeiffer on Saturday, Feb. 25 for their first-ever meeting with the Falcons. Pfeiffer finished 6-12 overall a year ago but went 5-3 in Conference Carolinas, earning a spot in the conference tournament semifinals.

On Wednesday, March 1 the Pioneers open their SAC schedule when they host Brevard at Pioneer Field. The Tornados went 9-7 overall and tied for fourth in the conference with a 4-4 record, earning a berth in the SAC Championship tournament where they were defeated 15-8 by the Pioneers in the opening round. Tusculum also defeated Brevard 20-9 on the road in last year's regular-season meeting, and are 3-0 all-time with the Tornados.

Tusculum then heads out on the road to play five games in a row, including four in a span of six days during spring break. The Pioneers venture to Florida to face Tampa on Monday, March 6, against a Spartans squad that was 5-10 overall and 1-3 in the Sunshine State Conference before losing in the league semifinals. Tampa beat Tusculum 16-11 in the only previous meeting in 2015.

A pair of first-time opponents will also face the Pioneers during their trip to Florida, beginning on Tuesday, March 7 against Stonehill in a neutral-site contest in Davenport, Fla. The Skyhawks were 9-9 overall and 7-6 in the Northeast 10, earning a spot in the league quarterfinals. On Thursday, March 9, the Pioneers will visit Florida Tech to battle the Panthers, who also qualified for the Sunshine State Conference semifinals after going 10-7 overall and 2-2 in the league a year ago.

The spring break road swing concludes on Saturday, March 11 at Newberry. The Wolves were 5-11 overall and 1-7 in the SAC last season, and lost to the Pioneers 18-3 in Greeneville. Tusculum has won both previous meetings with Newberry.

On Saturday, March 18 the Pioneers will visit Lenoir-Rhyne to take on the Bears. After losing 17-4 in 2015 in their first-ever SAC conference game, the Pioneers battled the Bears last season before falling 16-14 at Pioneer Field. Lenoir-Rhyne finished 11-7 overall and in second place in the SAC at 7-1 a year ago, losing 16-8 to Queens in the SAC Championship match.

Tusculum steps back out of conference play for its first-ever meeting with Limestone on Wednesday, March 22 at Pioneer Field. The Saints ran the table in Conference Carolinas, going 8-0 in the regular season and defeating Mount Olive 3-2 in the championship match to finish with a 15-4 overall record.

The Pioneers remain home on Saturday, March 25 to battle Catawba. The Pioneers beat the Indians 17-16 at home in their inaugural season of 2015, but Catawba returned the favor with a 15-7 victory in Salisbury, North Carolina last year. Catawba finished the season 8-10 overall and tied for fourth in the SAC at 4-4 in league play.

Tusculum heads to Lincoln Memorial for a contest with the Railsplitters on Wednesday, March 29. The Pioneers have defeated the Railsplitters in each of the last two seasons, including a 22-10 win at home last year. LMU went 3-12 overall and was 0-8 in conference play.

April begins for the Pioneers with a visit from three-time defending SAC regular-season and tournament champion Queens University of Charlotte on Saturday, April 1. The Royals ran the table in the conference for the third straight season, going 8-0 in league play and 18-3 overall. Queens, which has never lost in 22 regular-season conference matches, beat the Pioneers 24-11 in their regular-season meeting and 21-6 in the SAC Championship semifinals last season.

Tusculum will travel to Coker on Saturday, April 8 to face the Cobras, who beat the Pioneers 12-10 in the SAC Tournament opening round in 2015, but lost 14-10 in Greeneville in last year's regular-season meeting. The Cobras failed to qualify for the 2016 SAC Championship tournament after finishing 2-6 in the league and 8-7 overall.

The Pioneers will play their final non-conference game of the season on Thursday, April 13 with a trip to Tennessee Wesleyan. The Bulldogs went 12-7 overall and 8-0 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference, but lost to Columbia (S.C.) in the conference championship match. Tennessee Wesleyan did qualify for the NAIA national tournament and was eliminated in the quarterfinals, finishing with an overall record of 12-7.

The regular season will end on Saturday, April 22 as Wingate visits makes its first-ever visit to Pioneer Field. Tusculum won at Wingate 16-11 for their first-ever conference win in 2015, but lost on the road 16-13 last year. Wingate went 12-5 overall and finished 6-2 in the SAC, good for sole possession of third place.

The top six seeds will qualify for the SAC Women's Lacrosse Championship, which begins on Tuesday, April 25 on campus sites and concludes with the semifinals and finals at Queens on Friday and Saturday, April 28-29.