Gophers Take On Familiar Foe in Season Opener

TOWSON, Md. — As it has in each of the past six years, Goucher will launch its 2015 season with a game against Hood. The in-state rivals will clash Tuesday on Thomas Athletic Field, starting at 4 p.m.

The first of the nine home games the Gophers are scheduled to play this fall is set for Friday against Rosemont, beginning at 7 p.m.

"We had a very productive preseason," said Bryan Laut, who is entering his sixth season as the head men's soccer coach at Goucher. "I sense that the guys are anxious to begin the season and Hood is going to be a good test for us."

During the six-year stretch in which the two teams have opened against one another, Goucher held the upper hand by winning four times and earning one draw. The Gophers own an 8-1-1 advantage in the all-time series against the Blazers.

Goucher returns six starters from a team that went 8-6-3 a year ago and, for the first time in the eight-year history of the Landmark Conference, qualified for the conference's postseason tournament.

Goucher's first Landmark Conference contest is set for September 19 against Moravian.