GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum women's lacrosse team will face a challenging 17-match schedule in 2018, starting Saturday, Feb. 3 against Lees-McRae, as head coach Jenna Handshoe has announced her team's finalized slate of games. (2018 Schedule)
The Pioneers will face 15 opponents who played last season, 10 of which finished with season records of .500 or better. Among that group are seven teams that won at least one game in their respective conference tournaments, along with NCAA tournament qualifier Queens and national runner-up Florida Southern.
Tusculum battled through an equally daunting schedule in 2017, facing four nationally-ranked opponents before finishing with a 5-12 overall record and in sixth place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 3-5 league record. The Pioneers were eliminated by Coker in the SAC quarterfinals by a score of 18-17, the team's fifth loss of the season by one or two goals.
Handshoe, the only coach in program history, begins her fourth season with a 26-23 overall record and a 12-12 mark in conference action. She has led the Pioneers to the SAC tournament in each of the team's first three seasons, including a quarterfinal win over Brevard in 2016.
Tusculum plays five of its first six matches at Pioneer Field, starting Saturday, Feb. 3 against Lees-McRae. The Bobcats went 5-10 overall last season and 3-7 in Conference Carolinas, tying for seventh place in the league and earning a spot in the league quarterfinals. The Pioneers beat the Bobcats 16-7 in the only previous meeting on April 19, 2016 at Pioneer Field.
The Pioneers then host defending national runner-up Florida Southern on Sunday, Feb. 11 for the first of two meetings this season with the Mocs. Florida Southern went 21-3 last season, winning all four of its Sunshine State Conference games and the league tournament title. Florida Southern, which beat Adelphi 8-7 to win the 2016 Division II championship, lost to the Panthers 6-4 in last year's title match.
Tusculum plays its third straight home match on Saturday, Feb. 17 against Belmont Abbey. The Crusaders were 10-8 last season and tied for second place in Conference Carolinas at 8-2, earning a spot in the league semifinals. It will be the first meeting between the Pioneers and Crusaders.
On Wednesday, Feb. 21 Tusculum will venture on the road for the first time to visit Virginia-Wise. The Cavaliers were 12-5 overall last season and finished second in the Mountain East Conference at 4-1 in the league, and were a semifinalist in the conference tournament. The Cavaliers are the only non-conference opponent the Pioneers have played in each of their first four seasons, with Tusculum holding a 2-1 edge in the previous three meetings. Virginia-Wise beat Tusculum 14-13 at Pioneer Field on Feb. 22 of last season.
The Pioneers are back home on Saturday, Feb. 24 for a non-conference match with North Greenville. The Crusaders were 10-9 overall in 2017 and tied for fifth place in Conference Carolinas with a 6-4 mark in conference play, before being ousted in the league semifinals. The Pioneers beat the Crusaders 19-3 in their only previous meeting on March 10, 2016 at Pioneer Field.
Tusculum closes out the month of February with a home match against Concordia-St. Paul on Monday, Feb. 26. The Golden Bears were 8-8 in their first year as a program in 2017, and will play a full Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule in 2018. The match with the Pioneers is the first of four in a Southern swing for the Golden Bears that will include contests with Mars Hill, Southern Wesleyan and Wingate.
The Pioneers begin their own Southern trip on Saturday, March 3 with a visit to Florida Southern, followed on Monday, March 5 with a trip to Tampa. The Spartans were 6-11 overall and 1-3 in the Sunshine State Conference last season, taking fourth place in the league. The Spartans are 2-0 all-time against the Pioneers, including a 21-7 home win on March 6 of last season. Tusculum will wrap up the Florida swing on Wednesday, March 7 for their first-ever contest against Saint Leo. The Lions were 6-11 overall last year and 0-4 in the Sunshine State Conference.
After returning from Florida, the Pioneers will open their eight-game South Atlantic Conference schedule on Sunday, March 18 at Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears tied for fifth in the SAC last year at 5-3 in the league and finished 11-8 overall after being eliminated in the league semifinals by Queens. Last year's 16-6 win by Lenoir-Rhyne over Tusculum on March 18 gave the Bears a 3-0 edge in the all-time series.
The Pioneers will face another tough test on Saturday, March 24 at Queens. The Royals have never lost a conference match in the league's four-year history, compiling a perfect 32-0 record and winning all four regular-season and tournament championships. The Royals are coming off an NCAA quarterfinals appearance to cap a season in which they went 17-4 overall and 8-0 in the SAC. Queens has won all four all-time meetings with Tusculum, including 22-8 at Pioneer Field on April 1 of last year.
Tusculum will be back home on Wednesday, March 28 when it faces first-year program Mars Hill, followed by a visit to Newberry on Saturday, March 31. The Wolves were 5-12 overall and 1-7 in the SAC last season, finishing in eighth place in the league. Tusculum has defeated Newberry in all three prior meetings, including 18-15 on the road on March 11 of last season.
The Pioneers open April by hosting Coker on Saturday, April 7. The Pioneers and Cobras have developed a rivalry, having met twice in the postseason in addition to three regular-season matchup. The Cobras went 14-5 overall last year and 6-2 in the conference, beating the Pioneers 19-14 in the regular season on April 8 and 18-17 in the SAC quarterfinals on April 25. Coker has won four of the five meetings between the schools, with Tusculum's lone win coming by a 14-10 score in 2016.
Tusculum will travel to Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday, April 11 to battle a Railsplitters squad that finished in seventh place in the SAC last year at 2-6 in the league and 6-9 overall. The Pioneers have beaten the Railsplitters in all three meetings, including a 15-14 come-from-behind victory on March 29 of last year.
The final home match of the regular season is Saturday, April 14 against Wingate at Pioneer Field. Tusculum took Wingate to overtime last season before losing 14-13 to the Bulldogs last April 22, who went 13-5 overall and tied for second place in the conference with a 6-2 record. Wingate has won each of the last two meetings with Tusculum after the Pioneers defeated the Bulldogs in their first-ever meeting in 2015.
Tusculum will wrap up the regular season on the road on Saturday, April 21 at Catawba. The Indians tied for fifth place in the SAC last season with a 5-3 conference record and 13-5 overall, defeating the Pioneers in Greeneville by a score of 14-12 on March 25 of last season. The Indians have won the last two meetings with the Pioneers following a Tusculum victory in the 2015 season.
The SAC tournament will begin April 24 at campus sites, and conclude with the semifinals on April 27 and the finals on April 29, both at Wingate. The top six teams in the conference standings qualify for the conference tournament, with the top two finishers earning a bye into the semifinal round. The NCAA Tournament will begin with first and second round matches on May 11 and 12, with the finals May 18 and 20 in Tampa.
