TUCSON, Ariz. -- With a new coach in Matt Blamey and the accompanying high expectations, the University of Arizona men's lacrosse team has released its 2018 schedule.

The Wildcats will kick off their spring campaign in familiar fashion, competing at the 2018 Pac-12 Shootout. The Wildcats open on Feb. 17 versus Utah, which was ranked No. 10 in the final MCLA poll. The next day, Arizona will face SLC foe USC. Both games will be played at UCLA.

The following weekend the 'Cats hit the road for two contests against Nevada and UNLV in Las Vegas. After those back-to-back double-header weekends, U of A will play host to No. 24 Boston College.

For spring break, Arizona is heading to the Lone Star State for a game at Texas and a neutral site game against Oklahoma, which will be held in Dallas.

After spring break, the Wildcats will complete its regular season with four straight home games against Sonoma State, San Diego State, Grand Canyon and Arizona State.

"Going through a transition year is always challenging, but we have been pleased with the attitude and effort displayed by our men this off-season," Blamey said. "We have worked to put together a schedule that will prepare us for the postseason while allowing us to peak at the right time.

"Playing in the SLC, it's imperative that we grab some challenging out-of-conference games early. I think we've been able to accomplish that. We hope to be somewhat battle-tested once we hit our conference slate."

Arizona will play 11 regular season games prior to the SLC tournament. The first round of the conference playoffs will be held at the higher seed during the weekend of April 21, followed by the SLC semifinals and finals on April 27-29.

The 2018 MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour will be held in Salt Lake City from May 7-12 at the SLC Regional Athletic Complex.

2018 University of Arizona Men's Lacrosse Schedule

* - indicates SLC South division contest