MISSOULA, Mont. -- In an effort to return to the 2019 MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour after a one-year hiatus, Montana has constructed a powerful schedule for the spring that features seven ranked teams and three in the Top 10.

Before the calendar flips to March, the Grizzlies will have faced the No. 5 (St. John's) and No. 1 (North Dakota State) teams in the country on the road.

After a home clash with No. 15 College of Idaho, Montana heads to SoCal, where it squares off with No. 11 Cal State San Marcos, No. 17 UC Davis and No. 20 San Diego. The in-state clash with No. 6 Montana State highlights the tail end of the slate.

"We got pretty aggressive this year trying to build as a competitive schedule as we could," said Montana coach Tucker Sargent. "This will help our team in the long run as we prepare for our conference and ideally a run at nationals. I doubt there are many teams outside the UMLC that have a schedule that will challenge their teams as much as this. Hopefully we can survive it and be better off for it."

2019 Montana Men's Lacrosse Schedule

* - indicates PNCLL North division contest
# - indicates contest held in San Diego