WASHINGTON -

Georgetown University Field Hockey Head Coach Shannon Soares announced the Hoyas' schedule for the 2016 season on Monday. In 18 total games in 2016, including one scrimmage, the Hoyas will face three opponents that ended the season ranked in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Top 20 poll and six in the top 50. Georgetown faced 14 of its 19 opponents during the 2015 regular season.

In 2016, the Blue & Gray is set to play seven home games including three against conference opponents. The format of the league has each team meeting once. GU will host No. 20 Old Dominion on Sept. 23 to open the conference home schedule. The squad will also host Providence (Oct.14) and No. 5 UConn (Oct. 21).

Georgetown's BIG EAST road schedule opens against conference newcomer Quinnipiac (Sept. 16) with Temple (Sept. 30), Liberty (Oct. 8) and Villanova (Oct. 29) following.

Georgetown will open the season with a scrimmage against Lehigh on August 17. Last season, GU bested Lehigh, 1-0, to earn its fourth win of the year and the first victory over the Mountain Hawks since 2011.

GU's regular-season schedule begins with a five-game non-conference road streak. The Hoyas will travel to North Carolina to match up against Davidson on Aug. 26 and Appalachian State on Aug. 28. The Blue & Gray will then head north to New Jersey, visiting Rider on Sept. 2 and Monmouth Sept. 4.

Georgetown will play its home opener at Cooper Field on Friday, Sept. 9, hosting William & Mary.

GU travels for its next three games, first at St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, Sept. 10 (1 p.m.). The Hoyas play their next two games at Yale in New Haven, Conn., first against Quinnipiac on Friday, Sept. 16 (3 p.m.) and on Sunday, Sept. 18 at Yale (2:30 p.m.).

The Hoyas will conclude their non-conference slate with road games versus Towson (Oct. 23) and La Salle (Oct. 30) and home contests against Lehigh (Sept. 25) and Longwood (Oct. 2).

GU had an impressive 2015 season that saw the Hoyas pick up eight wins, the most since 2002 when GU had nine wins on the season. The Blue & Gray also made improvements in several statistical categories including: goals scored (27), goals against (49), shutouts earned (4), goal differential (22). Georgetown's improvements were acknowledged by five BIG EAST regular season recognitions and forward Aliyah Graves-Brown (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg Academy) earning the program's first ALL- BIG EAST First Team honor.