HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's lacrosse team will open up the 2022 campaign with a pair of home games, starting on Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest against Lincoln Memorial before welcoming Colorado Mesa on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
 
Admission for both games -- and every regular season home game -- is free courtesy of Alabama Credit Union

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The Chargers go into head coach Connor Doyle's second season looking to build upon a strong run at the end of the last year when the team won four of its last six games, advancing to the Peach Belt Conference tournament championship game where UAH dropped a narrow 12-10 decision to Montevallo. 
 
UAH returns four of its top five scorers from last season including the team leader in scoring in Brody Phillips who finished his junior season with 51 points after scoring 23 times and adding a PBC-leading 28 assists. 
 
Phillips was named a preseason all-PBC selection along with teammates Josh Campbell and Silas Herman, and all three were all-league honorees last season. Campbell had 19 goals and a pair of assists to total 21 points which was third on the team, while Herman excelled in faceoffs, winning a conference-best 153 in addition to also leading the PBC with 73 ground balls.
 
Saturday's guests finished last year 0-9, though seven of those contests came against opponents that were either nationally ranked or receiving votes in the poll, and the team has been picked to finish 11th in the South Atlantic Conference this year. 
 
The meeting will be the third between the two programs and the first in Huntsville, and each team has picked up a victory in the series, including UAH's 14-12 win in Harrogate, Tennessee, when the teams met last on Feb. 27, 2019.
 
Colorado Mesa went 9-2 last season including a perfect 5-0 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, and the team has been picked to finish second this year. The squad returns 13 all-RMAC choices from last season including the reigning RMAC Attacker of the Year Hunter Holcomb, the RMAC Midfielder of the Year James Steinke, and the RMAC Freshman of the Year Dylan Checketts.
 
The two teams met last year on March 13 with Colorado Mesa securing a narrow 9-8 win in the only other meeting between the two programs. UAH goalie Zak Welsh made a season-high 21 saves in the setback at Charger Park.