HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's soccer team has announced its 2018 schedule. The Fords, coming off a Centennial Conference semifinal appearance in 2017, face another tough test with five NCAA Tournament teams from the Mid-Atlantic Region on the slate. Haverford will be at home 10 times on Walton Field as the team looks for another postseason run this fall.
After the Alumnae Game on Saturday, August 25, Haverford opens the season on Saturday, Sept. 1 against Arcadia as these teams meet during the opening weekend as a part of the Kick-Off Classic for the 18th straight season. St. John Fisher (a team Haverford has never met) and Montclair State (a team the Fords have not played since 2003) are in the other semifinal.
Haverford will start the season with four straight home games as Lebanon Valley (Sept. 8) and Eastern (Sept. 11) also make the trip to Walton Field after overtime clashes between these teams a year ago. Haverford will meet Lebanon Valley for the 10th straight year after these teams tied last fall. Eastern is playing Haverford for the fourth straight season as the Fords look to avenge an overtime defeat on the road. After a number of home contests to start the year, the only home non-conference date through the remainder of the season will be on Saturday, Oct. 20 as Landmark Conference Champion Scranton comes to campus.
St. Mary's (Md.) (Sept. 15) and Widener (Sept. 26) will mark the Fords' two road contests of the non-conference slate. Haverford defeated St. Mary's (Md.) at home by a 1-0 score last year in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Fords have won seven straight against Widener, with the last three coming via shutout.
Centennial Conference play opens on Wednesday, September 19 with a road trip to Muhlenberg. These two teams have played double overtime battles during each of the last two seasons. NCAA qualifiers Johns Hopkins (Sept. 29), McDaniel (Oct. 13), and Swarthmore (Oct. 27) will also be road tests for the Fords as they also travel to Washington College (Oct. 10) in conference action. After tying during the regular season, Haverford will have revenge on its mind against Swarthmore as the Garnet eliminated the Fords from the postseason in 2017.
Haverford's five home conference games are Franklin & Marshall (Set. 22), Ursinus (Oct. 3), Gettysburg (Oct. 6), Dickinson (Oct. 20), and Bryn Mawr (Oct. 24). Haverford has beaten F&M four straight times, but three of those have been one-goal victories. Ursinus and Haverford played to a scoreless draw a year ago, while Gettysburg – a team the Fords beat 2-0 in 2017 – was also a Centennial Conference playoff qualifier. Senior Day will be played against Dickinson during the final home Saturday of the regular season.
Women's soccer went 9-6-3 last season, finishing with a 6-2-2 Centennial Conference record which earned them to the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. Haverford returns seven players who started more than 10 games last fall, with several more who have appeared in the starting lineup multiple times throughout their careers.