HAVERFORD, Pa. – Haverford College men's soccer has announced its 2014 schedule. The Fords' slate features 17 matches, including nine contests within the Centennial Conference. Five teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2013 are found on this season's schedule.
The 2014 squad will take part in the Alumni Game on August 23. The regular season officially gets underway at Goucher (Aug. 31). After starting on the road, the Fords will host the Jimmy Mills Tournament that following weekend.
On September 6, William Paterson and Haverford meet in the first game of the tournament. Haverford will play Rutgers-Newark the following day to close out its tournament. Scranton will also take part in the Jimmy Mills Tournament. Rutgers-Newark was an NCAA Tournament qualifier this past season.
Following the home opener, two more contests on the road await men's soccer before its conference opener as the Fords trek to Lebanon Valley (Sept. 13) and Kean (Sept. 17). Centennial Conference play opens up for Haverford against Johns Hopkins on September 20. The second NCAA qualifier on the Fords' slate, Rutgers-Camden, will host Haverford on September 24. The Fords will also play two non-conference games during the month of October as they host Rowan (Oct. 8) and travel to 2013 NCAA qualifier Catholic (Oct. 15).
Eight of Haverford's final 10 matches, with the exception of Rowan and Catholic, will be Centennial Conference matchups. Five of those final eight conference meetings will come on the road as the Fords travel to McDaniel (Sept. 27), Dickinson (Oct. 11), Muhlenberg (Oct. 18), Franklin & Marshall (Oct. 25), and Swarthmore (Nov. 1).
Both Dickinson and Franklin & Marshall were NCAA Tournament qualifiers last season. The regular season finale against Swarthmore will not only have Hood Trophy implications, but mark a rematch of the top two teams in the regular season standings a year ago before Haverford earned the right to host the Centennial Conference Tournament on tiebreak criteria.
In addition to the aforementioned conference matchup with Johns Hopkins, Haverford will host Washington (Oct. 1), Gettysburg (Oct. 4), and Ursinus (Oct. 29) in Centennial Conference action during the fall.
Men's soccer has won 11 or more matches in each of its first three seasons under Head Coach Shane Rineer. The Fords went 11-5-2 last season, including a 5-2-2 mark in the Centennial Conference, earning them the right to host the conference tournament.