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Posted: 11/14/2008
Men's lacrosse head coach Geoff Weisenborn hopes to lead his program to the NCAA Tournament this spring.
Grantham, PA — The Messiah College athletics department announced its 2009 intercollegiate spring sports schedules Friday, unveiling details for baseball, softball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s golf and men’s tennis. The Falcons’ track and field program — which finished 10th in last year’s women’s national championships and 23rd on the men’s side — has yet to release either its indoor or outdoor schedule. Messiah’s baseball program will be looking for its second straight appearance in NCAA Regional competition and fourth overall this spring, as second-year head coach Bryan Engle has again loaded the baseball schedule with quality competition. The Falcons will face twelve teams that won 20 games or more in 2008, while eight squads on the slate won 26 games or more. Three of Messiah’s opponents won conference championships in 2008, while four competed in last year’s national tournament. Things will start early for the Falcons’ hardballers, as the team will face 2008 national runner-up Johns Hopkins University just four dates into competition. A week-long spring break trip could pit Messiah against last year’s national champion Trinity College — which went 45-1 on the year — but that schedule has yet to be released. “I feel this is the toughest schedule we have ever compiled in baseball at Messiah,” Engle said. “Saying that, I am excited to see how our young men will step up to the challenge of playing great competition. We want to set the standard high by playing the best possible. It will prepare us well for our conference season, and if we are fortunate to play well throughout the course of the year, it will prepare us well for post-season opportunities.” A team eager to get to the post-season resides at Anderson Field, as the men’s lacrosse team hopes to exorcise a 2008 season that seemingly ended too early. After going 7-0 in MAC play, Messiah dropped a 10-6 decision to league foe Widener University in the MAC Championship — marking the fourth consecutive season to end in that manner. A challenging non-conference men’s lacrosse schedule should help those efforts, as Messiah will host Washington College Mar. 4 — a team that finished ranked fifth in the nation at the conclusion of 2007. The team will travel to perennial power Gettysburg College Apr. 15, helping to break up a 10-game league schedule. Second-year women’s lacrosse head coach Heather Greer has also painted her women’s lacrosse schedule with plenty of challenges, as an annual trip to Florida will yield games against powerhouses William Smith College and Babson College in mid-March. Nine home games will give fans plenty of opportunity to catch the team in action, including three of the team’s first four contests of the season. That home slate pales in comparison to the 2008 softball schedule, however, as head coach Amy Weaver’s club will stay in Grantham for the majority of April. An eight-date homestand comprises a full two and a half weeks, but for good reason: This season is Messiah’s year to host the MAC Commonwealth Playoffs — an event to take place May 1-3 at Starry Field. Also hosting the MAC Championships will be the Falcons’ men’s golf program, as Messiah closes out the offficial spring men’s golf schedule with its lone home match on Apr. 21 before hosting the two-day league championships Apr. 25-26. The Falcons men’s tennis schedule will give fans plenty of opportunity to catch that team in action as well, as Messiah will host seven of its total 11 matches before heading to conference post-season play in late April. The Falcons will then be looking for their fourth straight MAC Commonwealth Championship.
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