The month of October includes many thrills and chills. One is a midway point for a handful of teams that will make it to the final destination in November.
The National Field Hockey Coaches Association published its weekly coaches poll Tuesday. The week six list, yet again, had the Ohio State (Big 10) moving up to No. 3.
FAN has said to keep an eye on that team.
Both North Carolina (ACC) and Northwestern (Big 10) have, in recent history, been the gatekeepers of spots No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. Not only are the Buckeyes a team to watch, but also the top eight that are scorching the turf.
Maryland (Big 10), Michigan (Big 10), Saint Joseph’s (Atlantic-10), the University of Connecticut (Big East), and Virginia (ACC) have powerful defensive systems to frost an opponent’s offense. It’s the right time to be gelling and making moves in every game going forward.
According to the NFHCA, “the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll is a composite ranking of the top 20 teams with a .500 or better record in the nation each week. Each Division I team with an NFHCA member coach is permitted one vote for the ranking each week.
“Polls are announced every Tuesday during the field hockey playing season.
The Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll is voted on by NFHCA member coaches and has no bearing on selection to the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship.”
The following teams received the most votes cast by NFHCA members. The list is the rank, team name, record, and last position held in the prior poll.
Bolded teams have moved position higher or lower from week-to-week.
20. Temple, 8-4, (20)
19. Liberty, 7-5, (19)
18. Cal at Berkeley, 6-5, (18)
17. Iowa, 6-6, (12)
16. Penn State, 7-6, (17)
15. Princeton, 8-4, (15)
14. UMass, 11-3, (15)
13. Albany, 11-2, (13)
12. Syracuse, 10-3, (14)
11. Duke, 8-4, (11)
10. Harvard, 10-2, (9)
9. Boston College, 10-3, (10)
8. Maryland, 8-3, (6)
7. Michigan, 10-1, (5)
6. St. Joe’s, 11-2, (8)
5. UConn, 12-1, (7)
4. Virginia, 10-2, (3)
3. The Ohio State, 11-1, (4)
2. Northwestern, 13-0, (2)
1. North Carolina, 10-0, (1)
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Photo: OSU at Michigan, Jana Benscoter
By FAN – US
