Battle at the Beach Emerges
FREDERICA, Del. – Due to some last minute complications, the event formerly known as the “Battle for Baltimore” has transformed into the “Battle at the Beach.”
While much of the schedule (below) and participants have remained the same, the three-day affair will move from the Baltimore suburbs to the Delaware coast.
The Battle at the Beach will take place on March 23-25 at the DE Turf Sports Complex in Frederica, Del., and will feature nine teams from four different MCLA conferences.
“We are thrilled to be continuing this competitive event at such a beautiful facility,” said Virginia Tech coach Tim O’Brien, who, along with Pitt coach Jason Rickel, created the event.
“This is an event that truly showcases the high quality academic and athletic institutions of the MCLA in a region where lacrosse is seemingly growing and evolving,” O’Brien continued. “We really want to highlight the MCLA and show young players that you can attend a school like Virginia Tech and still play high caliber lacrosse.”
Along with No. 9 Virginia Tech and Pitt, No. 17 Liberty, No. 18 UConn, No. 16 Northeastern, East Carolina, Central Michigan, Purdue and No. 10 Michigan State will be participating in the Battle at the Beach.
Five of the teams are currently ranked in the Under Armour MCLA Division I Coaches Poll and three – Michigan State, Northeastern and Virginia Tech – qualified for the 2017 MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour.
“We’ve received interest from some prominent western Division I teams as well as Division II teams from all over the country about coming and playing in the 2019 Battle, so we’re excited about how this is taking off from when it got started three years ago,” Rickel said.
All of the games will be free admission. Three of the contests (designated below) will be covered live by Lacrosse Talk Radio.
2018 Battle at the Beach Schedule
Friday
5:00 PM - Liberty vs. UConn *
8:00 PM - East Carolina vs. Central Michigan
8:00 PM - Pitt vs. Northeastern *
Saturday
12:00 PM - Virginia Tech vs. Northeastern
12:00 PM - Liberty vs. Michigan State
3:00 PM - Pitt vs. UConn
3:00 PM - East Carolina vs. Purdue
Sunday
12:00 PM - Virginia Tech vs. Michigan State *
12:00 PM - UConn vs. Central Michigan
12:00 PM - Pittsburgh vs. Purdue
* - indicates game to be aired on Lacrosse Talk Radio