Fitchburg State Picked Ninth In LEC Pre-Season Poll

Falcons collect 65 points among conference coaches

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. (August 23, 2012) – The Fitchburg State field hockey team was recently ranked ninth in the Little East Conference Pre-Season Coaches Poll as selected by the league coaches Wednesday morning.

Keene State has been chosen as the favorite to claim the Little East field hockey regular-season title, earning seven of the 12 first place votes and a total of 136 points. UMass Dartmouth and Plymouth State were the only two other institutions to break the 100-point barrier with the Corsairs edging the Panthers by just five points (129-125). UMass Dartmouth received three first place votes, while Plymouth State earned the remaining two votes.

Bridgewater State was picked fourth in the poll with 96 points, while the University of Southern Maine rounded out the top five with 84 points. The top four teams in the final regular-season standings earn home field advantage in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 Little East Field Hockey Championship Tournament.

The LEC sponsors an 11-game conference schedule with each team playing each other once. The top eight teams in the final regular-season standings advance to the 2012 Little East Field Hockey Championship. The tournament will feature three rounds with the highest seed in each contest earning home field advantage. The championship match is scheduled for Saturday November 3 with the tournament champion receiving the conference’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The Fitchburg State field hockey team will open its 2012 season on Saturday September 1st, as it hosts Simmons College for a match starting at 12 p.m.