The Haverford College women's soccer team posted its second consecutive 12-win season in 2010 (12-5-1) and reached the semifinal round of the Centennial Conference tournament. It was the fourth time in the program's 26-year history that the Fords won at least 10 matches in back-to-back seasons. The 2011 Fords will be a mixed bag of youth and experience with 10 freshmen on the 25-player roster. They will have to come together to extend the double-digit winning streak to three for the first time and, more importantly, earn a conference title.
"Our first goal is to make the conference playoffs," said fifth-year head coach Jamie Gluck. "From there we want to be a contender and vie for a spot in the conference championship game and the NCAA tournament."
Last season the Fords boasted one of the top defenses in the Centennial, finishing first in goals allowed (14), second in goals against average (0.76) and third in shutouts (10). With the graduation of three All-Centennial performers, keeper Kayleigh Herrick-Reynolds and backs Kristin Sockett and Maura Schiefer, Haverford in 2011 will rely on a mix of veterans and freshmen to maintain the high defensive standard.
Offensively, Haverford has steadily improved each season under Gluck. In 2010 the Fords netted 36 goals which ranked fourth in the conference. The 36 goals are a five-goal improvement over the 2009 season and the most goals by the team since 2005 (48 goals). This season Haverford looks to continue to keep up the offensive pressure with four of its top five scorers from 2010 on the 2011 team.
Gluck believes that every game plays a role in the season. The Fords will receive a pair of tough non-conference tests at the Manhattanville Tournament. Haverford takes on a pair of NCAA tournament teams in Eastern Connecticut State, ranked 14th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason poll, and host Manhattanville. In conference, Haverford, who is picked fifth in the preseason coaches poll, looks to get past six-time defending championship Johns Hopkins University, who eliminated the Fords on penalty kicks in the 2010 conference tournament semifinal.