The 44th annual Can-Am Rugby starts Friday, and the host Mountaineers will again be represented by three teams.

The Mountaineers Old Boys — aka the MOB — will be the first local squad competing and have two matches slated for Friday. The men’s and women’s teams will then take the field Saturday as they begin a hopeful run toward reaching Sunday’s playoff rounds. All three teams will start pool play on the Petrova Ave. fields in Saranac Lake.

The MOB hopes to improve on the 0-3 mark they posted at the tournament in 2016. They will compete in the over-50 division and will first take on Lockport Lardass at 1 p.m. Their second matchup is slated for 4 p.m. against the Marine Corps Old Breed side. Longtime Mountaineer Terry McGuoirk will lead the MOB into action as player-coach.

Both the Mountaineers men’s and women’s social division teams finished the tournament last year with 2-1 records during solid outings, and look to better those results this time around. The men will be coached by Jay Annis and Sean Morgan and begin play in a match featuring a local flavor as they meet up with the Paul Smith’s College Alumni at 11 a.m.

Alex Medina receives a pass from Dylan Kilner as team members take a lap around the pitch during the Mountaineers men’s practice session Wednesday evening at the Spencer Boatworks field. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter

The women will be coached by Katie Morgan and Ericka Moody, who will be donning their cleats for the weekend. The women will play their first match at 9 a.m. Saturday against the Warthogs.