HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's soccer team has announced its 2017 schedule. Coming off a Centennial Conference Tournament appearance, the Fords have potentially six NCAA Tournament teams on their upcoming slate. Included in the team's nine home dates this year are three matchups against the conference's NCAA Tournament qualifiers in 2016 for a total of five potential matchups against NCAA teams on Walton Field this fall.
After the annual Alumnae Game on Saturday, August 26, the regular season opens with the 27th Annual Haverford Kick Off Classic. Arcadia, an NCAA Tournament team will face the Fords for the 17th straight season. Haverford will be looking to avenge its only defeat in that stretch suffered a season ago on Saturday, Sept. 2. Either TCNJ, a team advancing to the NCAA second round last year, or York (Pa.) await the Fords in the championship (1:30 p.m.) or consolation game (4 p.m.) the following day.
Two familiar opponents in Lebanon Valley (Sept. 9) and Eastern (Sept. 12) await Haverford during its first road trips. The Fords have won each of the last two meetings against both of these schools. Haverford will play St. Mary's (Md.) for the first time in school history on September 16 during its final tune-up before Centennial Conference action gets started.
Throughout the course of conference play, the Fords will also host Widener (Sept. 30) in non-conference play for the second straight season following a 1-0 win last year. Haverford's lone non-conference battle in October will be a trip to Scranton. The Fords won 2-0 during the most recent meeting between these schools in 2014, but the Royals are coming off a NCAA Tournament appearance a year ago.
Home Centennial Conference dates include Muhlenberg (Sept. 20), Johns Hopkins (Sept. 30), Washington College (Oct. 11), McDaniel (Oct. 14), and Swarthmore (Oct. 28). Johns Hopkins (defending conference champions) and McDaniel (conference runner-up) each made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament last fall, while Swarthmore was a second round team in the national tournament.
Road trips around the conference include Franklin & Marshall (Sept. 23), Ursinus (Oct. 4), Gettysburg (Oct. 7), Dickinson (Oct. 21), and Bryn Mawr (Oct. 24). Gettysburg will mark a rematch of last year's Centennial first round matchup which went to the Bullets in penalty kicks after the Fords won the regular season meeting.
The Centennial Conference Tournament is slated for November 1, 4, and 5 for the top five teams in the regular season standings. Women's soccer has made the Centennial Conference Tournament in eight of head coach Jamie Schneck's first 10 years as head coach. During the postseason, the Fords would be seeking their first NCAA Tournament appearance since back-to-back trips in 2012 and 2013.