Gwynedd Valley, Pa. – (7/30/2024) – A month removed from their first competition, Gwynedd Mercy University Head Women's Soccer Coach Michael Nelms is pleased to announce the 2024 schedule. "Being the best demands maturity, self-discipline, and responsibility in every facet of life," opened Coach Nelms. "The new season is exciting and non-conference opponents like the University of Pittsburg at Greenburg, Penn State Schuylkill, Bryn Mawr College, and Albright College will certainly challenge us to improve in every way." He continued, "We look forward to playing Pratt Tech. - a new addition the  conference – and I am encouraged by the growth of this program exhibited last season."
 
Phase three of Coach Nelms' master plan was a tremendous success as Gwynedd Mercy University reached new heights and standards in 2023 with a 7-5-6 overall record and a 1-1-4 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) standing. The #6 Griffins highlighted the journey with their first postseason appearance since 2017; after a 4-3 shootout win over #3 Cabrini University (Oct. 28), the Red and Gold bowed out of the postseason with a 7-0 AEC Semifinals loss to #1 Marywood University (Oct. 31). Nelms and his staff garnered the AEC Coaching Staff of the Year title, while All-AEC accolades were earned by freshman defenseman Jordy Fregia (Levittown, Pa.) (1st Team), freshman forward Ksenia Semenovykh (Warrington, Pa.) (1st Team), sophomore midfield Bethany Beinlich (Forksville, Pa.) (2nd Team), and sophomore goalkeeper Madisson Ronn (Warrington, Pa.) (2nd Team).
 
The 2024 season opens on Friday, August 30, when Gwynedd Mercy University hosts Penn State Brandywine for a 4:00 p.m. home contest. The affair is the University's only home contest on the opening day of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition for the 2024-2025 academic year and is sure to draw attention from the Red and Gold faithful. Gwynedd Mercy University opened the 2023 season with a 5-0 win over these Nittany Lions, who eventually finished the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) runner-up with a 10-7-1 overall mark and an 8-2 league record.

Following the holiday weekend, the Griffins continue early-season competition on September 4 with a 7:00 p.m. contest at Cairn University. The Highlanders were a 1-1 tie (Sept. 22) on last year's schedule and figure to be solid competition again after taking their 7-6-4 overall record and a 5-2-2 league standing to the United East Finals. There, they served as the league runner-up to Bryn Athyn College (L, 0-2 on Nov. 2), who is slated to host Gwynedd Mercy University on September 13 (7:30 p.m.). The Red and Gold suffered a 4-1 loss (Sept. 9) to the 2023 United East Champions who sported a 13-3-1 overall record and an 8-0-1 league standing.  
 
In between, the Griffins return to the Athletic Complex for competitions versus the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg (Sept. 7, 1:00 p.m.) and Rosemont College (Sept. 11, 7:00 p.m.). The Bobcats are new to Gwynedd Mercy University's schedule as their September-7 match serves as the first meeting for the programs. Pitt-Greensburg lost the 2023 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championship to Penn State Behrend in a shootout (T, 0-0; 0-3), and finished the season 14-6-2 overall and 8-0-1 in league play. The Griffins defeated the Ravens by a 1-0 final in 2023 (Sept. 13) with a goal in the 81^st-minute (80:47) from Semenovykh serving as the contest's lone tally. Rosemont College finished the season 6-9-3 overall and 5-2-2 in the United East after a postseason shootout loss to Cedar Crest College (T, 0-0; 0-3 on Oct. 28).
 
Gwynedd Mercy University concludes September with back-to-back home games versus the University of Valley Forge (Sept. 16, 4:00 p.m.) and Penn State Abington (Sept. 18, 6:00 p.m.) and back-to-back road games opposite Wilson College (Sept. 21, 1:00 p.m.) and Immaculata University (Sept. 28, 1:00 p.m.). The Griffins dismantled the Patriots in 2023 (Sept. 20), defeating the 1-13 (0-9) United East-member by a 7-0 final. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions of Abington finished 2-14 overall (1-5) were slightly more competitive as 3-1 United East adversary in an October-2 meeting. The Phoenix and Mighty Macs were also wins in 2023 as the Griffins topped both Wilson College (W, 3-2 on Sept. 27) and Immaculata University (W, 1-0 on Oct. 14) in one-goal games. Wilson College took their 14-4-2 (8-1) record to the United East Divisional Semifinals, while Immaculata University missed the AEC postseason with a 3-13-1 overall record and a 0-6 league standing.
 
October opens on the 7^th with a 7:00 p.m. contest versus Penn State Schuylkill; this will serve as the Griffins' first-ever meeting with these Nittany Lions. Schuylkill finished 2023 with a 9-9 overall record and a 6-4 standing in the PSUAC. Afterwards, Gwynedd Mercy University alternates home and away games until a pair of back-to-back Athletic Complex dates versus Neumann University (Oct. 19, 3:00 p.m.) and Marywood University (Oct. 23, 6:00 p.m.).
 
The pair are preceded by dates with Pratt Institute of Technology (Oct. 9, 7:00 p.m.), Bryn Mawr College (Oct. 12, 1:00 p.m.), Albright College (Oct. 14, 4:00 p.m.), and Marymount University (Oct. 16, 6:00 p.m.). The Cannoneers enter their first season as members of the AEC as they finished 2023 at 6-7-1 without a league affiliation. The Griffins last met the Owls in 2018 (W, 1-0 on Sept. 25) and the Lions in 2011 (T, 0-0 on Sept. 3); the former finished 2023 with a 3-10-3 overall mark and a 0-8-2 standing in the Centennial Conference, while the latter sported a 4-12-2 overall record and a 0-6-1 standing in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth. Marymount University was crowned the AEC Champions with a 1-0 overtime triumph over #1 Marywood University (Nov. 4). The Saints tied the Griffins 1-1 (Oct. 11) last season and completed their year with a 7-10-5 overall record and a 3-1-2 AEC mark.
 
The October-19 home game versus Neumann University will serve as Senior Day for the Griffins. The Knights were 7-6-4 (2-1-3) last season and tied Gwynedd Mercy University in a 2-2, October-21 stalemate. Meanwhile, Marywood University was elusive to the Griffins in 2023, defeating the Red and Gold 3-0 (Oct. 18) in their regular-season meeting and 7-0 (Oct. 31) in their AEC Semifinal matchup. The Pacers were 7-9-2 overall and 4-1-1 before serving as the league's runner-up to the Saints.
 
The 2024 regular and AEC-seasons end on Wednesday, October 23, with a 6:00 p.m. home game against Centenary University (N.J.). were 5-9-2 overall and 2-3-1 in league play a year ago. They challenged the Griffins to a scoreless tie in 2023 (T, 0-0 on Oct. 25).

The 2024 AEC Women's Soccer Championship is scheduled for Saturday, November 9, with semifinals and first-round contests respectively scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, and Saturday, November 2.