Northwest Nazarene Drops '23 Sked
NAMPA, Idaho -- The Northwest Nazarene men's lacrosse program is entering its second full season as an MCLA member and the Nighthawks are looking to make a mark via a rigorous 2023 schedule.
Northwest Nazarene is playing a 15-game slate that features five teams that finished last spring ranked in the New Balance MCLA Division II Coaches Poll.
"We are excited about the games we have scheduled this spring," said NNU coach Tom Blanchard. "Our goal was to add a few more games this spring and we also wanted to improve our strength of schedule, which I feel like we were able to do. We were close to having a couple more games with teams who were in the top 25 last season, but, for one reason or another, we just couldn't get it done. Overall I like what we were able to do with our schedule."
The Nighthawks will have to be sharp early. They head to Las Vegas to face UC San Diego -- a national tournament qualifier in 2022 -- along with a strong Claremont outfit in early February.
"Our opening weekend of play against UC San Diego and Claremont is going to be exciting," said Blanchard. "Having an opportunity to play two quality teams out of the SLC will be good for us to see how far we have come as a program."
Ten of the final 12 games on the docket will come at home for Northwest Nazarene, which includes contests against Montana, Nevada and crosstown rival College of Idaho.
The only excursion from home will take place on March 3-4 when the Nighthawks make the drive to Logan, Utah, to square off with traditional powers Utah State and St. John's.
Northwest Nazarene will look to qualify for the PNCLL tournament for the second consecutive year while also hunting for a bid to the 2022 MCLA National Championships, which will take place at the Round Rock (Texas) Multipurpose Complex from May 8-13.
2023 Northwest Nazarene Men's Lacrosse Schedule
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME |
| Feb. 10 | vs. UC San Diego ^ | 7:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 11 | vs. Claremont ^ | 12 p.m. |
| Feb. 17 | IDAHO | 6:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 18 | CHICO STATE | 11 a.m. |
| Feb. 25 | MULTNOMAH | 11 a.m. |
| March 3 | at Utah State | 5 p.m. |
| March 4 | vs. St. John's % | 11 a.m. |
| March 11 | CENTRAL WASHINGTON | 11 a.m. |
| March 18 | NEVADA | 8 p.m. |
| March 25 | PACIFIC LUTHERAN * | 11 a.m. |
| March 31 | UC DAVIS | 6:30 p.m. |
| April 1 | MONTANA | 11 a.m. |
| April 7 | SAINT MARY'S | 6:30 p.m. |
| April 15 | WESTERN OREGON * | 11 a.m. |
| April 22 | COLLEGE OF IDAHO * | 7 p.m. |
| April 29-30 | PNCLL Tournament # | |
| May 8-13 | 2022 MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance |
* - indicates PNCLL South subdivisional contest
^ - indicates contest played in Las Vegas, Nev.
% - indicates contest played in Logan, Utah
# - indicates tournament played in Lake Oswego, Ore.