There's a new sport in Ada and the first game will be played next Saturday.
The Ohio Northern men's and women's lacrosse teams will open their inaugural seasons with a double header on Saturday, Feb. 27, at Dial-Roberson Stadium.
The Polar Bear men, under the guidance of Nat St. Laurent, will play the first-ever game in program history at 1 p.m. against Franciscan.
The Polar Bear women will follow with their first-ever contest at 4 p.m. against Olivet (Mich.) under head coach Beth Hemminger.
Northern's men will also host Concordia (Ill.), Westminster (Pa.), Defiance and LaRoche (Pa.) at Dial-Roberson Stadium before starting Ohio Athletic Conference competition April 9 at Mount Union as part of its 15-game schedule.
The ONU women will also play a 15-game schedule and will host Keuka (N.Y.), Kenyon, St. Mary's (Ind.), Urbana, Mount Union and Capital as part of a 7-game homestand from March 6-April 13.
The OAC Tournaments for both squads, which will feature the top four teams in the conference in each gender, will begin with semifinals on May 4 and the finals on May 7.
Men's team
The men's lacrosse team was picked to finish seventh in the 2016 Ohio Athletic Conference Preseason Poll in voting conducted by the league's eight head coaches.
The Polar Bears received 14 points in the poll.
Otterbein was picked as the preseason favorite with 47 points and five first place votes, Capital was picked to finish second with 45 points and the other three first place votes and Baldwin Wallace was picked to finish third with 36 points.
Women's team
The Ohio Northern women's lacrosse team was picked to finish sixth in the 2016 Ohio Athletic Conference Preseason Poll in voting conducted by the league's eight head coaches.
The Polar Bears received 15 points in the poll and were tied with Wilmington for sixth place.
Mount Union was selected as the preseason favorite with 49 points ands even first place votes, Capital was picked to finish second with 38 points, Baldwin Wallace was picked to finish third with 35 points and John Carroll was picked third with 32 points and the final first place vote.
