CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queen's University of Charlotte men's lacrosse team announced their schedule for the 2024 season this morning. The Royals enter their second season of Division I play and their second season in the ASUN as they finished 2-12 in 2023 with a 1-8 conference record.
The Royals have 13 games scheduled for 2024, nine of which are ASUN Conference games, ahead of the ASUN Championship in Colorado Springs, Colorado in late April. Seven of the 16 games will be played at home on Dickson Field while the Royals will also travel to five other states including Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Utah.
The Royals will open their regular season traveling to Lexington, Virginia to take on VMI on Saturday, February 10. Last season, VMI defeated Queens 10-9 in double overtime at the Queens Sports Complex. The Keydets compete in the MAAC for men's lacrosse and finished 6-9 overall and 3-6 in conference play last season.
The remainder of Queens' non-conference schedule consists of three consecutive home games against High Point, Hampton, and St. John's between Sunday, February 18 and Tuesday, February 27. The matchups against High Point and Hampton will be rematches from 2023 when the Royals traveled to each school. Queens defeated Hampton 17-10 in Virginia last February and will look to improve to 2-0 all-time against the Pirates. The Royals did not have such luck against the Panthers last season as High Point won 22-6 in their matchup last March. The Tuesday matchup between Queens and St. John's will be the first ever between the Royals and Red Storm.
The Royals will travel west to take on Air Force in Colorado Springs to open up conference play. Last season, the Falcons defeated the Royals 18-6 and finished 7-2 in conference play before falling to Utah in the ASUN Championship. The game in Colorado Springs is set to be played on Saturday, March 16.
Within the next week, the Royals return home to host Lindenwood and Bellarmine. The Royals host Lindenwood on Wednesday, March 20 as the Lions defeated the Royals 15-6 in St. Charles, Missouri last season. That Saturday, the Royals host the Knights after a 24-12 defeat in Louisville last March. The matchups will be the second historic matchup for Queens against each school.
That following Saturday, March 30, the Royals travel north to Michigan to take on Detroit Mercy. The Titans were the source of the Royals' only conference victory last season as Queens won 9-5 at home. This time, Queens travels to Detroit for the second-ever matchup between the two schools. Following the match, Queens returns home to host Jacksonville on Saturday, April 6. After a strong 2023 which included a victory over No. 7 Duke, the Dolphins were upset in round one of the ASUN Championship by Robert Morris. In the matchup between the two squads last season, Jacksonville came in ranked 15th in the country, and defeated Queens 25-5 in Florida.
The following week, the Royals travel north with road tests against Cleveland State and Robert Morris. That Wednesday, April 10, the Royals face the Vikings in Cleveland after narrowly falling 13-12 last season. That Saturday, April 13, the Royals land in Moon Township, Pennsylvania to take on the Colonials of Robert Morris. Along with the upset victory over Jacksonville, the Colonials took down the Royals 14-10 last April as their season ended with a 12-4 loss to Air Force in the ASUN Championship Semifinals.
The Royals will play their final home game against Mercer on Saturday, April 20, before traveling to Salt Lake City to take on Utah in the regular season finale on April 27th. The Bears and Utes each defeated the Royals last season. Additionally, after a 9-0 conference record and ASUN Championship last season, the Utes fell to Notre Dame 20-7 in the first round of the NCAA Championship in South Bend, Indiana.
The Royals welcome 26 newcomers to the roster this season as they also bring back some key returners.
Jack Royer led the team in scoring last season with 34 points on 20 goals and 14 assists. The Junior from Edmonton returns for his third season on the Royals as he tied with
Brendan Nace to lead the team with 17 points in conference play. Royer also recorded 54 points at the Division II level as a freshman. Nace returns for his sophomore season after recording 23 points on 14 goals and nine assists overall.
On the goalkeeping side,
Gage Turner and
Wesley Wheat return as they combined for 16 games played and nine starts. As a Junior, Wheat recorded a .479 save percentage with 90 saves and 98 goals allowed. Turner recorded a .380 save percentage on three starts with 35 saves and 57 goals allowed.
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