HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's soccer team has announced its 2015 schedule, a slate that includes 10 home dates for the Fords on the newly renovated Walton Field. The fall schedule opens on the road on September 1 against the first of five NCAA Tournament qualifiers on the team's schedule.
That Tuesday, Sept. 1 opener will see the Fords travel to Cabrini for the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Cabrini played in the NCAA Tournament first round a season ago. The home schedule opens with the annual Haverford College Kick Off Classic. Haverford, the defending champs of the classic, will begin looking for its seventh title in program history on Sept. 5. The Fords will battle Arcadia to start the classic, a matchup that has taken place every year since 2001 at some point during the regular season. Eastern and SUNY-Brockport will play the other semifinal with the second day of action set for Sunday, Sept. 6. The Fords will travel to DeSales that following weekend.
Centennial Conference action begins in earnest with a home date against Dickinson on Sept. 19. The Fords will wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule as the month of September closes with three familiar opponents as they travel to Lebanon Valley (Sept. 23) before hosting Stevenson (Sept. 26) and Moravian (Sept. 30). The road trip to Lebanon Valley will be the seventh straight years these schools meet. Stevenson, an NCAA Tournament qualifier a season ago, will meet Haverford for the third straight season. Moravian and Haverford have met every year since 1995, a span that will reach 21 years in 2015.
Following a conference preview in the middle of September, Centennial Conference play hits full tilt when the calendar turns to October as Haverford will play its final nine games against conference opposition. Five off those dates will be at home as Ursinus (Oct. 7), Muhlenberg (Oct. 14), Johns Hopkins (Oct. 17), Washington College (Oct. 28), and Swarthmore (Oct. 31) will visit Walton Field in 2015. This schedule will allow the Fords to face four of the five playoff qualifiers from last year on their home field during matches against Ursinus, Muhlenberg, Johns Hopkins, and Swarthmore. Both Johns Hopkins and defending Centennial Conference Champion Swarthmore were NCAA qualifiers in 2014.
Also included in the month of October are four road contests against Gettysburg (Oct. 3), Franklin & Marshall (Oct. 10), Bryn Mawr (Oct. 21), and McDaniel (Oct. 24). Gettysburg also qualified for the Centennial Conference and NCAA Tournaments a season ago.
The Centennial Conference Tournament is slated to begin with the first round game featuring the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds on Nov. 4. The conference semifinals and finals will be played Nov. 7 and 8 at the site of the top seed. Haverford has made the Centennial Conference Tournament in seven of head coach Jamie Schneck's eight seasons as head coach. The Fords have also made the NCAA Tournament in two of the past three seasons with Schneck leading the program.