By the numbers: 2017 schedule for UMBC men's lacrosse

UMBC has released its schedule for the 2017 season. Here is a breakdown of what awaits the Retrievers, who went 4-10 last year and finished sixth in the America East.

10: Senior attackman Max Maxwell finished last spring 10th in Division I in assists per game at 2.1. He had 30 total assists to become only the seventh player in program history to reach the 30-assist plateau.

9: The Retrievers gave starts last spring to nine different freshmen including three who started at least six games. They were attackman Jack Andrews (14 goals, 15 assists), midfielder Billy Nolan (4 G, 5 A), and defenseman Cooper Cuje (two ground balls and one caused turnover).

8: UMBC is scheduled to play eight games on the road, with six coming on a pair of three-game stretches away from Catonsville. It will mark the first time the program has played eight road contests in a regular season since the 2003 squad also played eight.

7: The Retrievers will return seven starters including three-fourths of the defense. They include senior defenseman Garrett Hasken (18 ground balls, five caused turnovers), junior defenseman John Tornabene (19 GB, 11 CT) and senior goalkeeper Ruston Souder (11.03 goals-against average, .516 save percentage).

6: UMBC has now finished sixth in the America East in each of the past two years. Prior to 2015, the program had never placed lower than third in the conference.

5: The Retrievers are set to host five games in the spring. That's the fewest regular-season games at UMBC Stadium since 2003, when that squad also played just five contests at home.

4: UMBC is set to tangle with four opponents that advanced to last year's NCAA tournament. They open the campaign at reigning national champion North Carolina on Feb. 4, visit Johns Hopkins on Feb. 11, welcome Colonial Athletic Association titlist Towson on March 4 and travel to America East champion Hartford on April 22.

3: The Retrievers started three different goalkeepers last year in Souder, redshirt senior Connor Gordon (13.00 goals-against average, .418 save percentage) and sophomore David Pisanic (12.85 GAA, .500 save percentage). Whether Souder or Pisanic asserts himself as the starter next spring should be an intriguing storyline.

2: Since UMBC was elevated to Division I competition prior to the 1981 campaign, the program had just two head coaches in Dick Watts and Don Zimmerman. Former Maryland and Loyola Maryland offensive coordinator Ryan Moran is now the third.

1: Of the three starters who graduated this past spring, attackman Nate Lewnes might have the biggest impact after he ranked first in the country in goals per game at 3.9. The Arnold native and St. Mary's graduate became the first Retriever to lead the nation in a statistical department since Steve Marohl set the NCAA Division I record for assists in a single season with 77 in 1992.