The University of Delaware women’s lacrosse team will take on five NCAA tournament squads from a year ago as head coach Kateri Linville announced the challenging 2017 schedule on Friday

The Blue Hens, who went 11-6 overall and 3-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association a year ago, will kick off the season on Feb. 11 with a home game against Georgetown. UD will then face one of its toughest tests of the year on Feb. 18 against Penn, which earned the seventh seed in last year’s NCAA tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals.

The Blue Hens will welcome Rutgers to Delaware Stadium on Feb. 25, while the season-opening four-game homestand will conclude against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion and NCAA tournament participant Canisius on March 3.

UD will play its first road game of the campaign on March 8 at Monmouth before returning to Newark to host Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Virginia Tech on March 11 and Bryant on March 15. Following a road game at George Washington on March 18 and a home contest against Colorado on March 29, the Blue Hens will wrap up their non-conference slate on April 2 with a matchup at Princeton, which competed in last year’s NCAA tournament.

UD will open its conference schedule on April 9 when the Blue Hens host Hofstra at 1 p.m., prior to road games at William and Mary on April 14 and Elon two days later.

UD will return home on April 21 to host Towson, which captured the Colonial Athletic Association championship a year ago and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Blue Hens will conclude their home schedule on April 23 with a home game against James Madison, which tied Towson for the league regular season title and also competed in the NCAA tournament last year.

UD’s regular season will conclude at Drexel on April 29, while the four-team CAA tournament will be held May 5-7 at Towson.