CARSON, CA (February 28, 2005) - Four of the premier men's Division I college lacrosse teams, including the defending national champions, are heading west to The Home Depot Center (HDC) for the inaugural \"First 4,\" a showcase featuring elite programs from Notre Dame, North Carolina, Georgetown and Syracuse christening the HDC's Soccer Stadium pitch with exciting lacrosse action on Saturday, March 12.

Pre-season No. 2 ranked Syracuse, the defending national champions, opened their much-anticipated 2005 regular season schedule this past Saturday with a 9-4 win over No. 14 ranked Army.  After posting a 15-2 record last season and outscoring their opponents by an impressive 487-417 margin, the Orange -- who return fifth-year goalie Jay Pfeifer and junior attackman Brian Crockett, both named to the prestigious preseason Tewaaraton Trophy watch list -- are looking for their ninth national championship, an impressive feat in any sport.

Like Syracuse, the Hoyas feature two standouts in Andy Corno and Brodie Merrill on the 2005 Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List, and with a pre-season ranking of No. 5, Georgetown looks for a ninth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and revenge -- after falling last year to eventual champion Syracuse in the quarterfinals.  The Hoyas are also looking to improve upon their season opener, which they lost to high-powered Maryland, 13-6, on February 26.

Returning eight starters and 31 lettermen from a 2004 team that finished 10-5, the University of North Carolina lacrosse team is coming off a splendid campaign last year - a campaign that saw the Tar Heels play in their first NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament game in six years, including their first win in 11 years, and a regular season which resulted in UNC's first Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1996.  Ranked during the pre-season as high as No. 5, the Tar Heels sport five seniors who have started virtually every game since the beginning of their freshman years, and they began their '05 season in strong fashion with an 18-12 victory over No. 17-ranked Denver behind a career-high six goals (and eight total points) by senior attackman Mike McCall.

Notre Dame, which opened their 2005 campaign this past weekend with a 14-6 triumph versus No. 18 Penn State, had seen the last portion of the off-season highlighted by its being ranked among the top-11 teams in the nation in all three major preseason polls.  The Irish, who return 17 monogram winners and six starters from last year's squad that finished with a 7-5 mark and ranked No. 12, are ranked No. 10 in both the Inside Lacrosse polls (one done by coaches voting and one by media), as well as No. 11 in the Lacrosse magazine rankings.

\"This event will showcase four nationally ranked teams, All American players and top caliber coaches - the same ingredients you can expect to see at the NCAA Championships this May,\" said Kent Atherton, President and CEO of Pantheon International, the First 4 organizers along with AEG.  \"The FIRST 4 was created to launch the sport's spring season each year on a grand stage with the same type of tournament atmosphere, and to bring this thrilling action to the thousands of lacrosse players, coaches, parents and fans here that may have never experienced 'live' major college lacrosse, played at its very best.\"

The First 4 is the first lacrosse event at The Home Depot Center and the first Division I lacrosse event ever in the state of California.  Syracuse takes on Georgetown at 7:30 p.m. while the University of North Carolina will face-off against Notre Dame at 5 p.m.

Tickets are currently on sale for the historic doubleheader.  To purchase tickets, which begin as low as $30 ($15 for children 10 years and younger), call Ticketmaster at 213-480-3232, visit any Ticketmaster outlet or go to www.ticketmaster.com.  For a group sales discount on 10 or more tickets, call AEG group tickets at 866-LA-GROUP or go to www.aegtickets.com.

Both the North Carolina-Notre Dame and Syracuse-Georgetown contests will be televised live by CSTV: College Sports Television (www.CSTV.com) as part of its popular \"NCAA Lacrosse on CSTV\" college lacrosse series.

For credential information for the 2005 First 4's, contact the AEG communications department by calling 213-742-7307.  For more event information, visit www.thefirst4.com.

In addition, prior to the First 4's dual main event, there are several preliminary competitions featuring several top-ranked local high schools and select college clubs as well, including UC Santa Barbara and Colorado State University - a rematch of last year's MDIA national championship game -- on The Home Depot Center track at 3 p.m.  Admission to the UCSB-CSU contest is free. 

Also, a special high school schedule, featuring eight of the top Southern and Northern California high schools teams, will take place as follows: Coronado/St. Ignatius (2 p.m. on the turf); Torrey Pines/Monte Vista Danville (1 p.m. on the track); La Costa Canyon/Berkeley (Noon on the turf); and Malibu/Foothill (11 a.m. on the track).  Admission to these high school contests are free as well. 

Several local high school lacrosse graduates currently participate in men's Division I college lacrosse programs.  Syracuse features two freshmen from California, as does Georgetown.  Syracuse's Sean McGonigle (a defenseman) is from Carlsbad and La Costa Canyon High School, while Jake Myers (a goalie) is from Badalona and Torrey Pines High School.  Hoya freshmen Matt Fredericks (a defenseman) and Neill Bassi (a midfielder) are both from the San Francisco-area, and St. Ignatius High School and Georgetown Prep High School, respectively.

About The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center is southern California's new home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes.  The $150 million privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125 acre site on the campus of California State Dominguez Hills in Carson, California, The Home Depot Center features a 13,000 seat stadium for tennis, a 27,000 seat stadium for soccer, rugby, lacrosse & other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 20,000 seat facility for track & field, the ADT Event Center, a 2450-seat indoor velodrome and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is home of the USA Tennis High Performance Training Center as well as the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation.  The \"complex, \" which is also the home of the nationally recognized Athletes Performance training center for elite and professional athletes, has additionally be designated \"official\" training sites for USA Cycling, United States Track & Field and the USTA.

Contact: Michael Roth, AEG, 213-742-7155/Jeff Moeller, AEG, 213-742-7307
Contact: Brian Joy, Pantheon International, 203-571-1800
Contact: Eric Handler, CSTV, 212-342-8760