Loyola Maryland has released its schedule for the 2015 season. Here is a by-the-numbers breakdown of the slate that awaits the Greyhounds, who went 15-2 last year and lost to Albany in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
10: A 13-6 loss to the Great Danes was Loyola’s 10th exit in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The program is 10-10 all-time in playoff opening rounds.
9: The Greyhounds graduated nine players who contributed significantly to last year’s success. The defense especially suffered a blow with the losses of defenseman Joe Fletcher, goalkeeper Jack Runkel, and short-stick defensive midfielders Pat Laconi and Kyle Duffy.
8: Loyola became the first school in Patriot League history to go 8-0 in the conference. The program finished as the fifth team in the last six seasons to complete an undefeated campaign in the league.
7: The Greyhounds will play seven regular-season games at home. The seven contests are tied for the most in a single campaign at Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore since the facility opened in 2010.
6: For the sixth time in seven years, Loyola will take to the road for at least seven games. This will be the fourth consecutive season that the team will play at least seven games away from home.
5: The Greyhounds bade farewell to five players who had scored at least 10 goals last season. Gone are attackmen Brian Schultz (36 goals) and Justin Ward (18), midfielders Kevin Ryan (24) and Matt Sawyer (19), and short-stick defensive midfielder Pat Laconi (11).
4: Loyola returns four players who had scored at least 10 goals last season. Senior attackman Nikko Pontrello (51 goals), sophomore midfielder Brian Sherlock (19), and junior midfielders Tyler Albrecht (12) and Jeff Chase (10) will be counted on to fuel the offense.
3: The Greyhounds will meet three teams that qualified for last spring’s NCAA tournament. They will open the season against Virginia on Feb. 7, travel to two-time reigning national champion Duke on March 7, and clash with Maryland on April 8.
2: For the second year in a row, Loyola’s longest road trip of the season will be two games. The program had gone five straight years of three away contests in a row prior to 2014.
1: The Greyhounds became the first No. 3 seed to lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament since the tourney was expanded to 16 teams in 2003. Albany’s victory was the school’s first postseason win since 2007 when the Great Danes throttled Loyola, 19-10.