2010 Field Hockey Schedule

ANNVILLE, Pa. - Lebanon Valley will embark on another challenging schedule in 2010, taking on four nationally-ranked opponents as they chase down a Commonwealth Conference championship and a sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament.

Lebanon Valley (19-4 in 2009), which finished last season ranked seventh in the nation by the NFHCA, will hope to make another run at a national title coming off an appearance in the NCAA third round, LVC's fifth consecutive NCAA berth dating back to 2005. The Dutchmen will be led by returning all-American forwards Shelly Lobach and Jocelyn Novak, who led the nation in scoring as a sophomore, along with all-CC midfielder Jenni Walker and CC rookie of the year Caitlin Vasey.

The Dutchmen will host eight home games, including contests against nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins (Sept. 9) and Messiah (Oct. 20).

The schedule features four nationally-ranked opponents from 2009. LVC opens at Lynchburg, which ended up 10th in D-III last year, on Sept. 4. LVC opens at home Sept. 9 against Johns Hopkins, ranked 18th to end 2009.

Other nationally-ranked opponents on the slate include Gettysburg (#17 in 2009) and conference rival Messiah, which finished the season ranked #1 on its way to a national runner-up finish. LVC and Messiah met three times in 2009, including their first-ever meeting in the NCAA Tournament.

Other home games for LVC include Mary Washington (Sept. 11), DeSales (Sept. 16), the Commonwealth Conference opener against Albright (Sept. 28), Susquehanna (Sept. 30), F&M (Oct. 5), and an Oktoberfest Weekend game with Arcadia (Oct. 16). Both the Mary Washington and Arcadia games will be 11 a.m. starts, followed by home LVC football games at adjacent Arnold Field.