By Tom Flynn, Author and Freelance Journalist.

Check out his new book Men's Lacrosse in Maryland

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With the season already begun or about to start for most NAIA programs, here’s a roundup of noteworthy news on the lacrosse front. 

The Reinhardt (Ga.) Eagles showed they deserved their early season billing as the top team in the AAC when they opened with a 14-1 victory against the MCLA’s Columbus State at home. Goalie Austin Ambrose made ten saves for the Eagles before departing in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand. Reinhardt won 10-15 draws from the faceoff X. They will face a tough opponent on Thursday in the NCAA’s Shorter University. It will be the opening game of the season for the Hawks.

On the women’s side, Reinhardt is scheduled to open on February 5 at home against Columbia College (S.C.). The University recently announced that new head coach Roy Reynolds would lead the Eagles into the 2016 season.

SCAD Savannah (Ga.) men’s lacrosse will face St. Andrews (N.C.) in Laurinburg, NC in a match-up of two preseason top-10 NAIA teams. The Bees went 5-6 in 2015 while facing a formidable schedule. St. Andrews went 9-5 last season and will challenge Reinhardt for the top spot in the AAC.

Marymount California dropped their season opener to the MCLA’s Cal State Fullerton on February 1. “We were a bit short-handed,” said head coach Rogelio Perez after the game. “But we made a lot of improvements, not only as individuals but as a team,” he added. The Mariners next game is on February 13 when they host CSU Long Beach.

This week, Union (Ky.) announced its first signee, Zachary Lokey of Ryle High School in Union, Kentucky. The Bulldogs will begin play in 2017 and have Lokey slotted as a midfielder.

The Ottawa (Kan.) Braves women’s team will play their first game in program history on February 7 on the road against the University of Dallas.  They are led by Brittany Frankenfeld, who is a Baltimore, Maryland native and after two years at the Community College of Baltimore (CCBC), she completed her undergraduate degree at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.

Ottawa’s men’s team also breaks the seal on their new program when they face the MCLA’s second-year Dallas Baptist University squad on Saturday and then turn around and play the NCAA’s University of Dallas the next day. The Braves squad is loaded with talent and head coach A.J. Stevens has a track record for successfully starting programs, most recently at Colorado Mesa University, where he was the first head coach in the school’s history. 

Note: If you have any updates or photos from your program that you’d like to share, please send to tom.flynn51@gmail.com