Utah Valley Uncorks '23 Slate
OREM, Utah -- In its quest for its first bid to the Division I MCLA National Championships* presented by New Balance, Utah Valley has put together a monster schedule featuring quality teams from six difference conferences, including trips to North Carolina, South Carolina, California and Arizona.
"It is a challenging schedule by design," said Utah Valley head coach Brian Barnhill. "The difficulty reflects our program's growth and our players are looking forward to the test. Each game on our schedule provides a unique opportunity to play a game with playoff implications."
After a couple of tune-ups, the Wolverines head to the Carolinas to face up-and-coming ALC contender NC State on Feb. 24 followed by a stop at defending national champions South Carolina the following day.
A brief return to the mountain time zone to battle defending RMLC-II champion -- and current RMLC-I contender -- Utah on March 3 in Salt Lake City followed by a non-conference affair with Oregon State in Orem the next day.
After battling the Beavers, Utah Valley goes on a run of eight games that feature contests against seven 2022 tournament teams, starting with a March 9 clash in Los Angeles against USC. The is followed two days later with a game at Grand Canyon.
The Wolverines return for a five-game homestand featuring Liberty, Santa Clara, Cal Poly, Boise State and Georgia Tech. A conference road game against Brigham Young sets up the regular-season final weekend against Colorado State and Colorado.
"That week-to-week pressure is a privilege we're embracing," added Barnhill. "At the end of the day, by scheduling the best games possible, we're hoping to test our team and prepare them to play their best lacrosse in April for conference play and hopefully carry that momentum into post season play."
(* - Utah Valley qualified for the Division II championships four times, making two visits to the finals. The Wolverines moved to Division I in 2015)
2023 Utah Valley Men's Lacrosse Schedule
DATE | OPPONENT |
Feb. 11 | UTAH STATE |
Feb. 18 | WESTMINSTER # |
Feb. 24 | at NC State |
Feb. 25 | at South Carolina |
March 3 | at Utah * |
March 4 | OREGON STATE |
March 9 | at USC |
March 11 | at Grand Canyon |
March 16 | LIBERTY |
March 18 | SANTA CLARA |
March 29 | CAL POLY |
April 1 | BOISE STATE |
April 8 | GEORGIA TECH |
April 15 | at Brigham Young * |
April 20 | COLORADO STATE * |
April 22 | COLORADO * |
April 28-29 | RMLC Tournament $ |
May 8-13 | 2022 MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance |
* - indicates a RMLC Division I contest
# - indicates a scrimmage
$ - indicates tournament at Colorado Springs, Colo.