"It's exciting to look at this schedule and see so many outstanding teams in this area who have agreed to play against us," said Macias, who is in his second stint as a College Head Coach, having coached at Lehman College from 1995-96. "This is a program that has taken enormous strides to make a name for itself during the last two seasons, and I think if we can be successful facing a schedule like the one we are about to compete against, we will establish ourselves as one of the top teams in this area. It won't be easy, but at the same time, you want to challenge your team to raise its level of play to an opponent in order to get better. I think we've done just that."
After their March 5 opener and March 8 trip to Purchase College, Mount Saint Vincent will embark on its third straight Spring Break trip to Fort Pierce, Florida where the Dolphins will play seven games during the trip. Among the teams the Dolphins will meet are Delaware Valley College, a doubleheader with Penn State-Beaver, and a match-up with Swarthmore College. Immediately upon their return from Florida, Mount Saint Vincent will jump right into Skyline Conference play when they spend a weekend in Westchester County on March 24 and 25. On March 24, the Mount will host two-time defending Skyline Conference Champion Centenary at Westchester Community College. The next day, the Mount travels to Manhattanville College for a twin-bill with the powerhouse Valiants.
"We'll know by March 25 exactly where we stand. The road leading up to our first Skyline games will be tough, but will hopefully reward us with a sense of seasoning when we open Skyline Conference play with a tough weekend. Centenary is establishing themselves as a dynasty in the conference, and Manhattanville has been right on the doorstep the last few years. If we have a good weekend that weekend, we're right in the thick of things in the Skyline Conference."
The rest of the 2007 season involves weekday games against challenging non-conference foes and weekends against a Skyline Conference that has parity from top-to-bottom. Among the non-conference opponents for the Mount are a trip to NJCU on March 27 and Western Connecticut on March 29, and games throughout the month of April against Mitchell College, Baruch, Lehman, and the College of Staten Island. As the season winds down, the Dolphins will also face Ramapo, John Jay, CCNY, and Vassar in non-conference competition.
Highlights for the Mount's conference slate will be a home doubleheader against Mount Saint Mary on March 31 at Van Cortlandt Park, a twinbill at Stevens the next day, and consecutive home doubleheaders with Old Westbury and Farmingdale on April 14 and 15. On April 21 and 22, Mount Saint Vincent will have four crucial Skyline Conference games when they travel to Maritime College for a doubleheader on Saturday and host USMMA-Kings Point on Sunday, and their 2007 conference slate ends on April 28 when they travel to powerhouse St. Joseph's.
The Skyline Conference playoffs begin on May 3, and should the Mount reach the post-season beyond the Skyline Conference playoffs, they have a tune-up with the College of Staten Island on May 8 at Purchase College to prepare them. Overall, Macias said that the Mount's 2007 schedule is a statement on how good he thinks his team can be, and how good he wants them to be as well.
"We've had two great years during which we became known as a team that was playing beyond its experience. I think it's time for this program to shed that reputation and establish itself as one of the premiere teams in both the Skyline Conference and this region. We are capable of doing very well with this schedule, but more importantly, with this schedule we've sent a message that we expect big things from this group."
Mount Saint Vincent finished the 2006 season with a 16-19 record, 7-10 in Skyline Conference play.
