March 26, 2008  (updated ticket info)

BRYANT LACROSSE TO PLAY AT GILLETTE STADIUM APRIL 5
Bulldogs Face Merrimack in Lacrosse Doubleheader

Ticket Prices will be $13 and will cover both games
All tickets are General Admission
There is no charge for parking

Advance tickets can be purchased starting March 27 at Ticketmaster

FOXBORO, Mass  --- In advance of the 2008 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships, which will be played at Gillette Stadium May 24-26, it was announced today that a regular-season doubleheader will be played at the stadium April 5. 

In the first-ever lacrosse games to be played at Gillette Stadium Cornell University will play Harvard University (Noon) and Merrimack College will play Bryant University (3 p.m.).

"We certainly had to think it through before giving up a home game with rival Merrimack," said Bryant coach Mike Pressler.  "But the opportunity to play in a first-class facility as Gillette Stadium is something we couldn't pass up. It's a win-win for the NCAA and our kids are thrilled to play in the game."

Pressler is now in his second year coaching the Bulldogs.  In his first season at Bryant, Pressler guided the Bulldogs to its first Northeast-10 Conference regular season title and a top seed in the conference tournament playoffs.  During the 2007 season, Bryant tied a school record with 10 consecutive wins including an undefeated 9-0 mark in the Northeast-10.  Among those wins was an exciting overtime victory against defending national champion Le Moyne, snapping the Dolphin's 70-game win streak. 

Merrimack, led by first-year head coach Mike Morgan, will look to revenge its loss to Bryant in the first-round of the Northeast-10 Conference championship. 

For Cornell, the 2007 season proved to be one of the greatest in recent years as the Big Red was named the 2007 FieldTurf/NCAA Lacrosse Team of the Year.  Cornell capped an undefeated regular season (13-0) with the program's first trip to the national semifinal since the 1988 campaign. The Big Red, the fourth seed in the NCAA tournament, held the top spot in both national polls for the final nine weeks of the season and finished the year with a 15-1 record, one victory shy of the school record (16 in 1976) and eighth all-time in NCAA history for wins in a season.

Harvard begins a new era under first-year coach John Tillman.  Tillman, a Cornell graduate, brings a highly enthusiastic coaching style to a team that will play three teams in the top seven of the final 2007 poll.   The Crimson will look to reverse a 15-6 loss to Cornell last season.

The NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships will be held in New England for the first time since all three divisional championships were combined in to one event.  More information is available at http://www.lax2008.com/.

The NCAA recently announced that the 2009 NCAA championships also will be played at Gillette Stadium, hosted by Harvard, the Massachusetts Sports Partnership and the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"We are excited to host this doubleheader here at Gillette Stadium," said Dan Murphy, vice president of business development and external affairs.  "These games will bring additional attention to the regular-season and assist our efforts in promoting and managing the NCAA championships."