HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's lacrosse team has officially announced its 2018 schedule. In his second season leading the Fords, head coach Brendan Dawson will see his team play eight of its 15 regular season games at home. The schedule features many of the same opponents which have made Haverford's schedule one of the toughest in Division III during recent memory.
The 2018 season officially gets underway on Saturday, February 17 at home against Cabrini. The first game on the newly-renovated turf will be the 11th straight year these teams met. Haverford and Cabrini will match up in the season opener for the fifth straight season. Cabrini is coming off of an NCAA quarterfinal appearance in 2017.
A pair of conference runner-ups last spring wrap up the month of February. MAC Freedom runner-up Eastern will meet the Fords for the fourth straight season on February 24. Haverford owns a 5-2 edge in the all-time series, winning 7-6 on Swan Field last spring. The Fords will head out on the road this season. Skyline runner-up Stockton meets the Fords on February 28. Playing at home this spring, Haverford holds a 14-2 edge in the series. These teams are meeting for the third straight season with the Fords winning last year's matchup by an 11-9 score.
March opens up with a battle against Randolph-Macon at a site yet to be determined. RMC is 5-2 in the all-time series, but Haverford has won the last two meetings by one goal since the series resumed after a break following the 2000 season. Haverford's final home non-conference dates will be against Gwynedd Mercy (Mar. 7) and Roger Williams (Mar. 11). The Fords are 3-0 all-time against the Griffins and were victorious by a 5-1 score in 2017. The one new face to the schedule will be Roger Williams as these teams meet for the first time in program history. The non-conference finale at Stevens (Mar. 17) will see the Fords try to avenge an 11-6 loss against the Ducks with a series that has a 4-2 edge in favor of the Fords.
Centennial Conference play opens up with trips to McDaniel (Mar. 28) and Muhlenberg (Mar. 31). Haverford has won two straight over the Green Terror, while also owning three straight victories over the Mules. Haverford will also travel to Centennial Conference playoff teams Gettysburg (Apr. 14) and Swarthmore (Apr. 28). Gettysburg, the Centennial Conference runner-up last season, held off the Fords by a 5-4 score last spring. Certainly a game that will be circled on Haverford's schedule will be the regular season finale with the Garnet. The Fords lead the all-time series 26-18, but Swarthmore has gotten into the playoffs and subsequently eliminated Haverford from postseason play with victories on the last date of the season during each of the past two years.
Home Centennial Conference matchups for the Fords will include Franklin & Marshall (Mar. 31), Dickinson (Apr. 7), Washington College (Apr. 11) and Urinsus (Apr. 21). Those three straight home games will see the Fords look to avenge tough defeats against perennial powers from last year. The Diplomats won the Centennial Conference Tournament last spring, while Dickinson also made the Centennial Conference Tournament. The Fords and Red Devils have split their last two meetings. Haverford's Senior Day opponent this year will be Ursinus. The Fords won 9-8 in overtime against a nationally-ranked Bears team to snap a four-game skid in that series during the 2017 season.
Men's lacrosse went 7-8 last season with a 3-5 record in the Centennial Conference. The Fords will be in search of their first postseason experience since the 2011 season and certainly have the experience to do so after coming so painstakingly close during the past two seasons. Graduating just three seniors from last spring, Haverford will return each of its top seven point producers in 2018. The lone starter not back from that team will be third-team All-American PJ Jackson '17.