NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware men's lacrosse team, coming off a magical run to the NCAA Final Four last season, faces a challenging slate in 2008. The Blue Hens, led by senior goalkeeper Tommy Scherr (right), today released their schedule, a 15-game docket featuring four teams that made the NCAA field in 2007.

The Hens, who went 13-6 last season en route to the CAA crown and their first-ever NCAA semifinal berth, lost last year's top three scorers - Adam Zuder-Havens, Jordan Hall, and Dan Deckelbaum - to graduation. and also said goodbye to USILA second-team All-American Alex Smith, the NCAA leader in face-off percentage and the 2007 Major League Lacrosse Rookie of the Year.

But senior goalkeeper Tommy Scherr returns, as does sophomore sensation Curtis Dickson, five other players who scored eight goals or more a year ago, and three-time all-conference attackman Cam Howard, who has scored 62 career goals but missed all but two games last season with a knee injury.

Scherr, a team captain, ranked 14th in the nation in save percentage (.583) in '07, while Dickson tallied 21 goals and seven assists as a freshman attack last year. Junior Chris Hichborn (14 goals, six assists) will join Dickson on the front line, while senior Vincent Giordano (16 goals, eight assists) and sophomore Kevin Kaminski (16 goals, two assists) are set to control the midfield for coach Bob Shillinglaw.

Delaware begins the season Feb. 9 at Saint Joseph's. The Hens routed the Hawks, 23-6, in Newark last year, but the competition heats up a week later, when UD travels to Baltimore for a showdown with UMBC. The Retrievers, who posted an 11-6 record last year, will look to avenge their 10-6 loss to Delaware in the NCAA quarterfinals.

On Feb. 23, Marist comes to Newark for the Blue Hens' home opener. But Shillinglaw's squad can't enjoy the comforts of home for long, as UD visits a talented Rutgers bunch on March 1 and hosts powerhouse Albany a week later. The Great Danes defeated Delaware, 13-7, last year, when they went 15-3 on the way to the NCAA quarterfinals.

Things don't get any easier for Delaware on March 12, when the Hens visit a Georgetown squad that earned an NCAA berth of their own and scored a 9-8 win in last year's match-up.

UD will take on Stony Brook on March 15, while Villanova comes to Rullo Stadium for the Hens' CAA opener a week later. Last year in Philadelphia, Delaware outlasted the Wildcats, 19-18, behind two late goals from Dickson.

The Hens face Lehigh and Brown in the last week of March. Both games will serve as tune-ups for an April 5 showdown with arch-rival Towson, which suffered a 10-7 loss to Delaware in last season's CAA championship game.

On April 9, the Hens will get another major test from Drexel. UD avenged a regular-season defeat to the Dragons with an 11-7 victory in the CAA semifinals last season. Delaware closes out CAA play with games against Hofstra, Robert Morris, and Sacred Heart, three teams it defeated in 2007.

Delaware's 2008 opponents posted a combined 116-104 record (.527) a season ago. Delaware faced 12 of those 15 teams in '07, going 10-4 against them.

Delaware Men's Lacrosse 2008 Schedule: February 9 - at Saint Joseph's, 1 p.m.; February 16 - at UMBC, 1 p.m.; February 23 - Marist, 1 p.m.; March 1 - at Rutgers, 1 p.m.; March 8 - Albany, 1 p.m.; March 12 - at Georgetown, 3 p.m.; March 15 - Stony Brook, 1 p.m.; March 22 - Villanova, 7 p.m.; March 25 - at Lehigh, 1 p.m.; March 29 - Brown, 1 p.m.; April 5 - at Towson, 7:30 p.m.; April 9 - Drexel, 7 p.m.; April 12 - at Hofstra, TBA; April 19 - Robert Morris, 1 p.m.; April 26 - at Sacred Heart, 1 p.m.