Goucher Women's Soccer Announces 2019 Slate

BALTIMORE, Md. – Head Coach Stephanie Ricketts has announced her 2019 Goucher College women's soccer schedule. The 18-match slate is highlighted by nine games at Beldon Field including a four-game homestand to start the month of October.

The Gophers will begin their third season under Ricketts on the road at Gwynedd Mercy on August 30. Goucher will be starting the year on the road for the first time since 2016 while the team picked up its first win against Gwynedd Mercy last season with a 3-0 decision. It will be the fifth meeting in the series between the two teams.

"Our non-conference games are scheduled to provide us strong competition to prepare us for the very tough Landmark Conference," said Ricketts. "There are no easy games in our conference and so our non-conference schedule is set up that way as well."

Goucher will make its 2019 Beldon Field debut two days later on September 1 against Hood. After a one-year hiatus, Hood returns to the schedule with the Gophers holding an 8-4-1 advantage in the all-time series.

The squad travels to Lycoming for the third meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1999 season. Goucher defeated Lycoming 2-1 last season to even the all-time series at 1.

Eastern (September 7) and Shenandoah (September 11) will come to town for a two-match homestand after the match at Lycoming. Eastern joined the schedule in 2017 and the home team has won each of the first two contests while the Gophers will face Shenandoah for the seventh time in program history.

Franklin & Marshall returns to the slate for the first time since the 2006 campaign and the two teams will be meeting for the 15th time in program history on September 14.

After the trip to Lancaster, the squad returns home for a match against Alvernia on September 17. The two teams ended in a 2-all standstill last season while Goucher holds a 5-2-1 edge in the all-time series.

The Gophers will spend the rest of the first month of fall on the road at Widener (September 21), Notre Dame (September 24) and open Landmark Conference play at Drew (September 28). The team will face Widener for the 10th time in team history while Goucher is riding an eight-game winning streak going into the 25th meeting against the neighboring Gators of Notre Dame. Drew will be the conference opening opponent for the second-straight year while the Gophers will start the league slate on the road for the first time since the 2016 season. The two teams ended in a scoreless standstill last season and will be battling for the 15th time in team history.

"Every game in our conference is a tough game," said Ricketts. "We plan to focus one game at time this year and go in to each game with the mindset that we're playing to win."

After the three-game road trip, Goucher returns home for five of its final eight games at Beldon Field. The month of October begins with a four-game homestand against Wesley (October 2), Scranton (October 5), Immaculata (October 7) and Juniata (October 12).

"The four game homestead in October will just help us get back into a rhythm and hopefully keep us a little fresher heading into the heart of our conference schedule," said the coach.

The squad defeated Wesley 3-2 last season to increase its advantage to 4-1-1 in the all-time series while the team will be battling Scranton for the 14th time in team history. Goucher earned its first win in a series that was renewed with Immaculata last season for the first time since 1999 thanks to a 1-0 decision on the road in 2018. The two teams will be playing for the fifth time in program history. Juniata and the Gophers ended in a scoreless result last year and the two teams will square off for the 15th time in 2019.

Goucher heads to Catholic on October 16 and Susquehanna three days later (October 19) before returning home to host Elizabethtown on October 26 for the final home game of the year. The squad will wrap up the regular season on November 2 at Moravian.

The Gophers took Catholic to overtime last season and will battle its longtime rival for the 33rd time in team history while the team will face Susquehanna for the 13th time, Elizabethtown for the eighth time and Moravian for the 13th time in team history.

Goucher looks to finish as one of the Top-4 teams in the standings to advance to the Landmark Conference postseason for the first time in program history. The semifinals are on November 6 and the championship match will take place on November 9.