ITHACA, N.Y. – Peter Milliman, The Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Men's Lacrosse, has revealed the Big Red's schedule for the upcoming season. The 2020 slate is stacked with opponents that are likely to open the season ranked among the top-20 in the nation on the USILA Preseason Coaches' Poll, which will be released in January. The schedule will challenge the Big Red, while giving it the opportunity to square off against some of the best teams in the country, as Cornell strives to return to the NCAA Tournament this season for the second time in three years.

"We have made every effort to put together the strongest non-conference schedule possible," said Milliman. "We hope that this can prepare our team for an extremely competitive Ivy League schedule and give us the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Tournament."

There will be no shortage of quality opponents on Cornell's schedule this season, and the Big Red will hit the ground running, as its first seven games of the season are against opponents that are likely top-20 teams. Of these seven games, six are on the road. While this will test Cornell in the early going, it will pay off for Cornell down the stretch, as five of the Big Red's last seven games will be at home in front of its fans at Schoellkopf Field.

"As great as playing five of your last seven games at home is, playing your first five games on the road is not ideal, especially with the amount of traveling that we will have," said Milliman. "We just have to get ourselves prepared for the challenge and embrace every game as a new opportunity."

The Big Red will open up the 2020 season on Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. in Albany, N.Y. against UAlbany. The game proves to be a thrilling season opener after Cornell beat the Great Danes, 17-16, last season on a Connor Fletcher game-winning goal with 14 seconds left to play.

Cornell will then head to Baltimore, Md. to take on Towson on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. and High Point on Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. The Big Red's 18-11 victory over the Tigers in 2019 was a significant one, as Towson was ranked first in the nation at the time. This marked the second-straight year that Cornell defeated the top team in the country. Cornell's matchup this season against High Point will be the first time that the two teams have met in program history.

The Big Red will remain on the road for the next two weekends when it takes its shot at a pair of Big 10 teams. Cornell will head to Columbus, Ohio to face Ohio State on March 1 at 12 p.m. in what will be the Big Red and Buckeye's first matchup since the 2013 NCAA Quarterfinals, in which Cornell bested No. 3-seeded Ohio State, 16-6, to advance to the Final Four.

Cornell will face one of its toughest matchups of the season the following weekend, when it returns to the Crown Lacrosse Classic for the second straight year to play 2019 Big 10 Champion and NCAA semifinalist Penn State on March 8 at 4 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C.

After playing its first five games on the road, the Big Red will open its home slate and kick off Ivy League play on March 14 at 1 p.m. against Yale, one of the Big Red's biggest competitors in the conference this season. Penn, the 2019 Ivy League Champion, will be another team to beat, as Cornell will square off against the Quakers the following week on March 21 at 2 p.m. in Philadelphia. With both the Bulldogs and the Quakers advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals a season ago, and Yale making it all the way to the NCAA Championship game, these two matchups are pivotal for the Big Red as it opens Ivy League play.

"Our first two Ivy League games are against opponents that advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals a season ago, so our games against Yale and Penn are going to set the table for things moving forward," said Milliman.

After returning from Philadelphia, the Big Red will be able to stake camp at home for a large part of the remainder of the season. A non-conference game against Colgate on March 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field will be the first of five home games in the second half of the season.

Fans will have four more chances to see Cornell in action at home, including games against Hobart on March 31 at 7:30 p.m., Harvard on April 4 at 1 p.m., Syracuse on April 7 at 7:30 p.m., and Brown on April 18 at 3 p.m.

The Big Red's series with Hobart is filled with history, standing as the longest-running series in the history of collegiate lacrosse. This season, the Big Red and Statesmen will meet for the 139th time. The game against Harvard will be a key Ivy League matchup as the regular season begins to wind down, while the Big Red's rivalry with 2019 NCAA Tournament qualifier Syracuse will be renewed for the 109th time.

The Big Red will wrap-up the regular season and Ivy League play at Princeton on April 25 at 12 p.m.