WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University women's lacrosse squad released its 2016 schedule on Thursday. The team will face seven squads that finished 2015 ranked in the top 20 nationally as well as seven NCAA Tournament qualifiers.

Georgetown will start off 2016 by hosting the University of Delaware on Feb. 13. A season ago, Georgetown fell to the Blue Hens in the season opener on the road by a score of 17-5. It will mark the fifth-consecutive season the Hoyas begin the year with Delaware.

The following Saturday, the Blue & Gray will begin a four-game road trip making the short trip to College Park, Md., to take on the reigning national champions in the University of Maryland. Last year, Georgetown fell to Maryland, 12-3, at then-Multi-Sport Field.

After a week of practice, Georgetown will travel to Princeton University on Feb. 27. The Tigers went to the NCAA Tournament last season and finished the year ranked No. 9. Last year, the Hoyas dropped an 11-7 decision to the Tigers.

GU will travel to Towson University on Mar. 5. Last year, Georgetown fell to the Tigers by a score of 13-10 at home.

A matchup at Duke University will close out the road swing on Mar. 9. The Blue Devils went to the Final Four last season and finished the year ranked No. 4. The Hoyas fell to Duke in 2015 by a score of 12-4.

Georgetown returns home on Mar. 12 as the squad welcomes the University of Pennsylvania to Cooper Field. Last year, weather forced the game to be moved to Penn and the Hoyas lost, 15-8. The Quakers were 2015 NCAA qualifiers and finished the season ranked No. 13 in the nation.

The Blue & Gray will travel to George Mason University on Mar. 16 for a matchup with the Patriots. The Hoyas downed George Mason last year at home, 11-9.

GU will close out non-conference play with a pair of home games at Cooper Field. Johns Hopkins University will come to The District on Mar. 19. The Hoyas fell, 8-6, a season ago in Baltimore. JHU went to the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and finished the season ranked No. 17.

Loyola University (Md.) will finish out non-conference play on Mar. 22. The Blue & Gray suffered a tough 12-8 defeat at the hands of the Greyhounds in 2015. Loyola was No. 10 in the final poll and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

The Hoyas will play three home games and four road contests in BIG EAST Conference play in 2016. The squad will face Vanderbilt University (Apr. 2), the University of Cinicnnati (Apr. 16), the University of Connecticut (Apr. 20) and Temple University (Apr. 30) on the road. Home matchups include the University of Florida (Apr. 9), Villanova University (Apr. 13) and Marquette University (Apr. 23).

The Gators were the lone BIG EAST squad to make the NCAA Tournament in 2016. The team finished the season ranked No. 12 in the country.

The BIG EAST Tournament will be held May 5 and 7 at Cooper Field. The semifinals will be on the BIG EAST Digital Network and the Championship will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 2.

The Hoyas finished the 2015 season with a mark of 7-10 overall and were the BIG EAST Conference Regular Season Champions. The squad graduated nine seniors, but returns four of its top five scorers in 2016.