July 16, 2008

FARMVILLE, Va. - Longwood University first-year field hockey head coach Iain Byers has announced the upcoming 2008 Schedule, that features 10 home matches at the Athletics Complex in Farmville in addition to hosting this season's NorPac Conference Tournament November 6-9. The Lancers finished 6-15 overall during 2007, including 2-4 in the NorPac, the program's first year of NCAA Division I competition with full certification and eligibility. Longwood will open 2008 on the road, competing against Lock Haven in a neutral sight game on Saturday, August 30, at 2:30 p.m.

“We're very excited for the road ahead of us,” said Byers. “Our goal this season is to continue to grow as a team and as a program.?We have many challenging games out of conference that we plan to use as a preparation for the in conference games. I believe that this schedule is the toughest this program has ever played.”

The schedule is highlighted by home matches against Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) members North Carolina (September 28, 1 p.m.) and Wake Forest (September 29, 6 p.m.). Longwood's road schedule will be just as tough, as the team heads to the University of Virginia (October 15, 6 p.m.) before visiting Durham, N.C. to face Duke (October 26, 1 p.m.) in facing two more ACC?schools. 

“The opportunity that we have been given to play top programs, such as those that compete in the ACC, is extrodanary,” explained Byers. “Those games will really help us measure the strength of our program. Playing tough teams and coming out with good results only helps to boost our confidence heading into the conference championships.”

The Lancers will also host NorPac competition this season, taking on California (September 4, 4 p.m.), Appalachian State (September 6, 10 a.m.), Davidson (September 12, 6 p.m.), and Radford (October 22, 7 p.m.). Longwood will head on the road to face Davidson (September 20, 1 p.m.), Stanford (September 21, 1 p.m.) and Pacific (October 19, 11 a.m.). The NorPac Tournament will feature semifinal matches on November 6 and the NorPac Conference Championship will be played November 8.

Longwood returns seven starters amoung 16 letterwinners from a year ago, and has added six incoming freshmen recruits to the roster for 2008.