CHESTER, Pa. - Widener men's lacrosse head coach Robb Chambers has announced the Pride's 2024 schedule. 

Last year, the Pride went 9-9 (5-3 MAC) in Chambers' first season as the head coach. Widener had a strong performance at home, finishing with a 7-4 record. They made the postseason and defeated Messiah in the Commonwealth Quarterfinals. However, they fell to nationally-ranked York in the Semifinals. 

Chambers is ready to build on last year's success and contend for the MAC championship this season with a tougher schedule to prepare his team. 

""We are very excited about the 2024 season." Chambers says. "Our schedule features 2 past NCAA Champions (Cabrini & Stevenson), and 3 - 2023 NCAA tournament participants (York, Swarthmore, and Cabrini)." 

Among Widener's returning players in 2024 are graduate midfielder Wesley Sporer, sophomore attack Sam Haverstrom, and senior goalkeeper Keegan Billie. 

Sporer was a standout scorer last season, finishing with a team-second 51 points. His 34 goals ranked third on the team and his 17 assists ranked second. He also led the team with four game winning goals. He was named first team all MAC for his performance. Haverstrom was also a bright spot in his first season with the Pride, and his 48 points ranked third on the team. His 37 goals ranked second on the team and his 11 goals saw him rank just outside of the top five. He was runner up in the MAC Rookie of the Year award. Finally, Billie played almost 700 minutes in goal. He started 13 games and only allowed 181 of the 578 shots he faced to score, saving 167 of them. He compiled a 7-6 record in goal. 

The Pride's first game ofthe 2024 season will take place on Saturday, Feb. 17, as they travel to Swarthmore to take on the Garnet. They will also travel to play Shenandoah before playing their home opener on Feb. 28 against Haverford. 

Chambers speaks about starting with strong opponents, particularly against Swarthmore. 

"We begin our season with our traditional opener at Swarthmore College on 2/17/24." Chambers says.  "Swarthmore is coming off one of their best seasons ever, and we are looking forward to see how we match up against such a talented team." 

March has the Pride playing an even three games home and three away. They will travel to play Cabrini, Emerson, and Arcadia; and face Gwynedd Mercy, Elizabethtown, and Montclair State at Quick Stadium.  

The Emerson game will be a neutral game on Johns Hopkins' field. Chambers talks about he and his team's anticipation for the big game. 

"Our challenging non-conference schedule will prepare us for our MAC Commonwealth slate." Chambers says. "Our guys are definitely excited about the chance to play a game at Historic Homewood Field at Johns Hopkins University.  Having the chance to play great Emerson College team at Homewood will certainly be something everyone involved with our program will always remember." 

April consists of the Pride's final seven regular season matches, and they will stay mostly home for the final month. They will play all their conference games during the month, traveling to play Albright, Messiah, and Stevenson. Their home games consist of Alvernia, Albright, Hood, York, and Eastern. 

Chambers gives credit to his fellow MAC opponents but has big goals for his team this year. 

"Our players & coaches feel that from top to bottom the MAC Commonwealth is one of the best lacrosse conferences in the country.  We are excited to compete in a rigorous conference schedule that features 7 games in 21 days.  Our #1 goal is to come out the other side as one of the top 4 teams to qualify for the MAC Commonwealth Semi's." 

To view the entire schedule, click here.