GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's lacrosse team will play a program-record 11 home matches as part of its schedule of 17 contests during the 2020 season, head coach Joelle Prata has announced.
The Pioneers finished 4-12 overall last season and 2-6 in the South Atlantic Conference, but second-year head coach Joelle Prata welcomes back all 13 underclassmen from last year's team, including nine starters, along with the addition of seven freshmen. Tusculum will face three first-time opponents and play an expanded nine-game SAC schedule thanks to the addition of Virginia-Wise to the league.
Tusculum will open the season with six consecutive non-conference home matches, starting Wednesday, Feb. 12 with the Pioneers' first-ever meeting with Cumberlands. The Patriots finished 16-4 overall and 4-1 in the Mid-South Conference before beating Keiser 22-11 to win the MSC Tournament championship. The Patriots advanced to the NAIA National Invitational semifinals before being eliminated by Benedictine by a score of 14-10.
Another first-time opponent follows on Saturday, Feb. 15 with a visit from Tennessee Wesleyan. The Bulldogs went 8-8 overall last season and were 7-1 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference, with an 18-9 loss to Reinhardt in the conference championship match.
The Pioneers will welcome Shorter to Pioneer Field on Thursday, Feb. 20. The Hawks bounced back from a winless 2018 season by going 5-11 last year and 2-7 in the Gulf South Conference. The Hawks also claimed their first-ever win against the Pioneers in three tries, winning 16-12 at Pioneer Field on Feb. 6 of last season. Shorter was knocked out of the GSC Tournament in the semifinals by the Pioneers' next opponent, as Young Harris visits on Sunday, Feb. 23. The Mountain Lions were 11-7 overall last year and tied for first place in the GSC at 7-1 with Alabama Huntsville, which beat YHC 15-11 in the championship match. The Mountain Lions beat the Pioneers 21-5 at home last March 19 in their first-ever meeting.
Tusculum closes out the month of February by hosting Belmont Abbey on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The Crusaders were 11-8 overall last season and took third place in Conference Carolinas with a league record of 8-2. Belmont Abbey defeated Erskine 23-9 in the quarterfinal round of the league tournament before losing 19-15 to Mount Olive in the semifinals. Belmont Abbey beat Tusculum 17-6 on its home field last Feb. 16, the second straight year that the Crusaders defeated the Pioneers.
The Pioneers will close out their six-game homestand on Wednesday, March 4 with their first-ever meeting against Lee. The Flames were 4-12 last season and failed to qualify for the Gulf South Conference tournament after finishing league play with a 1-7 record. Last season, Lee went 0-5 in games against common opponents of the Pioneers.
The first road game of the season will also be the first SAC contest of the year, scheduled for Saturday, March 7 at Newberry. The Wolves went winless in eight conference matches last season, including a 19-13 loss to Tusculum on the road on March 30, and finished the season with a 3-14 record. The Pioneers have defeated the Wolves in each of the program's first five seasons, the only opponent against whom Tusculum has a perfect 5-0 record.
One week later, the Pioneers will venture to Charlotte to face perennial conference powerhouse Queens. The Royals rolled through the conference regular season with a perfect 8-0 record, then beat Wingate (20-5) and Lenoir-Rhyne (22-8) to claim the conference championship for the sixth straight year. The Royals then earned one-goal wins over Tampa and Rollins in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament before a 10-9 loss to West Chester in the semifinals ended the Royals' season at 19-3. Queens beat Tusculum 24-5 on March 23 of last year, and the Royals are 6-0 all-time against the Pioneers including a win in the 2016 SAC Championship quarterfinals.
Tusculum reaches the midpoint of its season on Wednesday, March 18 at Lincoln Memorial. The Railsplitters defeated the Pioneers for the first time in five meetings last year, winning 13-8 on April 10, en route to a third-place finish in the SAC at 5-3 in the league and 12-6 overall. LMU beat Coker 19-9 in the conference quarterfinal round before being eliminated by Lenoir-Rhyne in the semifinals by a score of 16-8.
On Saturday, March 21 the Pioneers return home to take on Mars Hill. The Lions were 5-10 overall last season and tied for sixth place with Tusculum and Coker with a 2-6 league record. The Pioneers defeated the Lions 16-15 on the road on April 2 of last season, giving Tusculum a 2-0 lead in the all-time series.
The Pioneers will stay at home to face Coker on Saturday, March 28. The Cobras finished with a 6-9 record last season and claimed the sixth and final playoff spot in the SAC over the Pioneers and Mars Hill, before falling 19-9 to Lincoln Memorial in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. Coker beat Tusculum 22-19 at home last year, and the Cobras have a 5-2 edge over the Pioneers in the all-time series which includes wins in the SAC Championship tournament in both 2015 and 2017.
Tusculum is back on the road on Wednesday, April 1 with a trip to Lees-McRae. The Bobcats went 1-12 overall last season and were 1-9 in Conference Carolinas, with their only win coming over Chowan by a 12-10 score. The Pioneers defeated the Bobcats 17-10 at home on March 21 of last year and are 3-0 all-time in the series.
On Saturday, April 4 the Pioneers will host Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears were 12-6 overall last year and finished 7-1 in the SAC, losing to Queens 20-5 in the regular season and 22-8 in the SAC Championship match. Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Tusculum 18-7 last year and has won all five meetings with the Pioneers all-time.
The Pioneers will face UVa-Wise as a conference member for the first time on Wednesday, April 8 on the road. The Cavaliers, who joined the SAC as a full-time member last summer, were 13-6 overall last year and went 9-1 in the Mountain East Conference, then beat Wheeling Jesuit 16-14 in the championship match to claim the league title in their final season in the MEC. UVa-Wise beat Tusculum 19-8 last season, giving the Cavaliers a 3-2 edge in the all-time series.
Tusculum's final road match of the regular season is Saturday, April 11 at Catawba. The Indians tied for third place in the SAC with Wingate and Lincoln Memorial at 5-3 in league play, with an 11-9 loss to Wingate in the SAC quarterfinals ending Catawba's season with an 8-9 record. The Indians beat the Pioneers 16-6 in the regular-season finale for their fourth straight win over Tusculum in five all-time meetings.
The final week of the regular season begins with a non-conference match against Emmanuel on Wednesday, April 15 at Pioneer Field. The Lions were 1-11 overall last season, including a 22-10 loss to the Pioneers at home on March 12 in their first-ever meeting. Emmanuel went 1-9 in Conference Carolinas with its lone victory coming against Lees-McRae by a score of 17-16 in the next-to-last game of the season.
For the third time in five years, Wingate will be the final regular-season opponent for the Pioneers on Saturday, April 18 at home. The Bulldogs finished 9-9 last season and 5-3 in conference play, beating Catawba in the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Queens 20-5 in the semifinal round. The Bulldogs beat the Pioneers 16-7 last season and have defeated Tusculum in five out of six meetings all-time.
The top six teams in the SAC regular-season standings will participate in the championship tournament, beginning with first-round matches on campus sites on Tuesday, April 21. Lenoir-Rhyne will host the semifinals on Friday, April 24 and the championship match on Sunday, April 26.
