HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Havorford College men's lacrosse team, under the direction of sixth-year head coach Colin Bathory '99, has announced its 2015 schedule. The Fords' 2015 season will include eight chances to catch the Fords on Swan Field. To prepare the team for an always challenging Centennial Conference schedule, the upcoming year will also feature three non-conference games against NCAA Tournament qualifiers from last year.
The 2015 season officially gets underway for the Fords on Saturday, February 21 at Cabrini. This year will mark the eighth straight season these teams have met. Cabrini advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round a season ago. Haverford's home opener will also feature another returning NCAA qualifier from 2014 as the Fords host Eastern on Saturday, February 28.
The home opener will begin a stretch of three straight home dates for the Fords as March opens up with Mount St. Mary (N.Y.) (Mar. 4) and FDU-Florham (Mar. 7) visiting Swan Field. Haverford will make the quick trip to Gwynedd Mercy on March 11 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The non-conference slate closes on March 14 in a home date against 2014 NCAA qualifier York.
Centennial Conference play for the Fords opens a week later with a trip to Gettysburg on March 21. The conference slate will also see Haverford make trips to Dickinson (Apr. 4), Franklin & Marshall (Apr. 18), and Ursinus (Apr. 22).
Haverford's first home conference matchup of the year will come against defending Centennial Conference Champion Washington College. The Shoreman were also NCAA qualifiers in 2014, giving Haverford a total of four contests against teams from the 2014 NCAA Tournament. McDaniel (Mar. 28) and Muhlenberg (Apr. 8) will also make trips to Haverford in the middle of the season, while the regular season concludes against rival Swarthmore on April 25.
The Centennial Conference Tournament begins with the semifinals on April 29 for the top four teams in the regular season standings. The Fords have qualified for the Centennial Tournament six times in program history, all of which occasions came with Bathory as either the head or assistant coach since the 2006 season. This run includes the program's only Centennial Conference Championship during the 2010 season in Bathory's first year as head coach.