ROME -- With fall practice winding down Shorter Men's Lacrosse officially released its schedule for the 2015 season Thursday morning.

The Hawks will look to improve on last season's success as they look to turn in their first winning season since head coach, Jason Childs, took over in 2013. In his two seasons at the helm of the men's lacrosse program they've turned in identical 7-7 records in both.

"I think we have a good schedule this year, and I am excited to see how we attack it," Childs commented.  "This will be the best group of talent the program has ever assembled, and this schedule should be a great test to see how they've come together as a team."

The Hawks will open the season with two exhibition games against two tough NCAA Division III opponents; taking on crosstown rival, Berry College, on January 30 and following the next day with a contest against Sewanee on January 31. Both games will take place at Ben Brady Field on the campus of Shorter University.

Shorter's regular season schedule will again feature 14 games – 7 at home and 7 on the road.

The Hawks will open with a two game home stand as Rollins College visits Ben Brady Field for the first game of the season on February 7, and Brevard College comes in on the 10th.

They will then take a quick trip to Tigerville, S.C. to take on North Greenville University on February 14, before returning home for a game against Lindenwood University on the 21st.

The next three games will take the Hawks all over the south as they travel to Waleska, Ga. for a contest with Reinhardt University (March 2), then to Tampa, Fla. to take on Saint Leo University (March 6), and then north to Charlotte, N.C. for a matchup against Belmont Abbey College (March 11).

Wingate University will then make a trip to Ben Brady Field on March 14, in a rematch from last season.

"We have some opponents that I feel like we just ran short on time with last year; Wingate and Rollins are two, in particular, where I feel like we were right there at the end an just ran out of time," Childs said. "I know as a group we are looking forward to those games."

March 21 the Hawks travel to Kennesaw, Ga. to take on Kennesaw State University, then return home for two games. Colorado Mesa University comes to Rome on March 25 for "Lace up for Lax" Day, and the game on March 31 against Emmanuel College will serve as Military Appreciation Day.

Shorter closes out the season in April with three games – two on the road and one at home. April 4 the Hawks travel to Banner Elk, N.C. for a game against Lees-McRae College, and April 18 travel to Young Harris, Ga. for the final game of the season.

In between, Shorter will host Point University on April 11 for the final home game of the season, and Senior Day celebration.

"I'm really excited for our seniors to leave a permanent mark during the season, and this is a great schedule for them to do that with. There is a lot of excitement from everyone for January to get here.