The William and Mary field hockey team announced its 2012 schedule today, and will take on 17 opponents during this fall's regular season, including three from last year's NCAA Championship field.  Head coach Peel Hawthorne '80 and her staff have put together another stellar slate of matches to test the Tribe as it seeks the program's third NCAA berth.

Following a pair of preseason scrimmages at Richmond and at home against Liberty in mid-August, the College will open the year with a weekend tournament in Davidson, N.C.  The Tribe will take on the host Wildcats of Davidson on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 11 a.m., before facing Appalachian State in a neutral-site match-up the following day at 4 p.m.  Davidson was 11-9 last year for Tribe alumna Ginny (Sutton) Turner '05, and reached the NorPac semifinals before finishing fourth in the conference.  Appalachian State battled through a tough 2-18 season in the NorPac in 2011.

The Tribe continues on the road for the second weekend of the season, crossing the state to take on Longwood on Friday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m., and playing at Liberty on Sunday at 2 p.m.  Longwood was 13-9 last fall and won the NorPac's East Division before beating Davidson in the third-place game at the conference tournament.  Liberty, who just started play last fall, went 6-11 in its inaugural season and will begin NorPac play this year.

The home-opener at Busch Field is slated for Friday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m. against Radford, completing the Tribe's swing through the NorPac East division.  The Highlanders were 7-13 last fall, and the Tribe is 24-3 all-time against their former conference foes, winning nine of the last 10 in the series.  The following Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m., W&M will host ACC-rival Virginia for the second year in a row.  Last year's match-up in mid-October was a 4-3 decision in favor of the Cavaliers, who were 8-12 in 2011.

The Tribe completes its short four-game homestand the following weekend, hosting Boston University on Friday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. and Miami (Ohio) on Sunday at 11 a.m.  The Terriers are a perennial top-20 team, and finished 11-9 last fall in the America East conference.  Miami went 7-15 in 2011 under a new coaching staff, including a 3-0 defeat by William and Mary in Oxford on Sept. 16.

As it has every year since 2007, William and Mary will open Colonial Athletic Association play against Northeastern, this year in Boston on Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.  Last year, Jeltje Loomans (Houten, The Netherlands) scored with just over a minute remaining to lift the Tribe to a 4-3 win over the No.-20 ranked Huskies.  Northeastern finished the year 14-8 overall, and had five athletes named All-Americans after a first-round exit in the NCAA Championships.  On the way back to Williamsburg, the Tribe will swing by Hofstra on Sunday, Sept. 23, for a 12 p.m. match-up with the Pride.  Hofstra was 13-9 in 2011, and reached the semifinals of the CAA Championships before falling to Northeastern.

Conference play continues the following Friday, Sept. 28, with a 7 p.m. match-up against Delaware in Williamsburg, before the Tribe heads up the road to play arch-rivals Richmond on Sunday at 1 p.m.  The Blue Hens, 9-11 last season, return their top-three scorers from a year ago.  Richmond went 16-7 last year and won its seventh Atlantic-10 Championship in the process, falling to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.  This will be the 44th meeting between the Tribe and the Spiders, including a nail-biting 2-1 Richmond win last fall.

Drexel makes its way to Williamsburg on Friday, Oct. 5, for a 7 p.m. showdown, as the Tribe looks to avenge last year's 2-1 setback in Philadelphia.  In that match, W&M had a 7-to-1 shot advantage over the final 20 minutes as it looked to tie the score.  Drexel was 10-9 last year, and lost seven players to graduation including the top two goalkeepers.  Two days later, the Tribe will host Towson on Busch Field at 1 p.m.  The Tigers went an even 10-10 and 4-4 in the league last year, and have won each of the last two matches with the Tribe.

The final non-conference match of the year is with ACC opponent Wake Forest on Friday, Oct. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in Williamsburg.  The Demon Deacons went 10-9 last year, and finished the season ranked 18th in the final NFHCA Coaches Poll.  The Tribe hasn't faced Wake Forest since the 2000 season, and is 5-5 all-time in the series.  On Oct. 21, the College travels to face James Madison at 1 p.m. in Harrisonburg, in the final road trip of the year.  The Dukes were 9-10 a year ago and reached the CAA semifinals.  The last two matches in the series were split decisions, with the Tribe victorious in 2010 and JMU winning last season.  Senior Day will occur one week later, on Sunday, Oct. 28, with a noon match against Old Dominion.  The Monarchs spent much of last season ranked No.-1 in the country and reached the NCAA Final Four with a 22-3 record, with the Tribe proving one of their toughest opponents in a 2-0 loss in Norfolk.

Championship season will kick off Nov. 1-4 with the CAA Championships, which will be held at the site of the regular season champion.  The top six teams will make the field, and ODU is in-eligible for selection as they leave the conference next year.  The NCAA Championships begin with campus-site matches on Nov. 10-11, and the Final Four will be hosted this year by Old Dominion Nov. 16-18.