The University of Denver women’s lacrosse team will face four of the nation’s top 20 teams from last season on its 2010 schedule: No. 4 North Carolina, No. 5 Duke, No. 13 Stanford and No. 13 Loyola (Maryland).

The Pioneers will play nine of their 17 games at home at Barton Lacrosse Stadium and will host the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, which begins April 29. The tournament winner plays the Atlantic-10 Conference winner for a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

“We have created a challenging schedule that should help our young team develop as we head into the MPSF Tournament,” coach Liza Kelly said.

DU opens with four straight games on the road, including a trip to North Carolina in February to face the Tar Heels, the national runners-up last season, and the Blue Devils.

The home schedule begins with Stony Brook on Feb. 18. DU faces MPSF foe Stanford on April 11.