LEC Pre-Season Field Hockey Poll Announced

Falcons collect 57 points to place ninth overall

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State field hockey team was recently ranked ninth in the Little East Conference Pre-Season Coaches Poll as voted upon by the league coaches.

The defending regular season LEC Champions of Worcester State University have been picked to hoist the league trophy as the Little East Conference announced the 2018 Field Hockey Preseason Poll on Thursday. The Lancers received seven of 12 possible first-place votes to top the poll with 138 points.

As voted upon by the LEC's 13 head coaches, Keene State, the defending LEC post-season tournament champions, garnered the second spot in the results, receiving five first place nods to total 133 points. Third place was earned by Plymouth State, which notched one first place vote for a total of 114 points.   

The fourth and fifth slots in the preseason poll went to Westfield State (100 points) and Bridgewater State (89 points), respectively.

Rounding out the poll results were UMass Dartmouth (86), Eastern Connecticut State (80), Southern Maine (64), Fitchburg State (57), Western Connecticut State (57), Castleton (54), Framingham State (21) and Salem State (17).

Conference play in Little East field hockey will consist of each team meeting each other once during the regular season, with the first interleague contests scheduled for Sept. 7th. The top eight teams in the final regular season conference standings will participate in the 2018 Little East Field Hockey Championship, with the tournament winner earning the league's automatic berth to the 2018 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship. The tournament is scheduled to begin on October 30th, with the championship match slated for Nov. 3rd.

Formed in 1986, the Little East serves as New England's premier athletic conference for public institutions in NCAA Division III. Featuring 19 championship sports, the Little East sponsors quality competition in every season for our student athletes. Our eight state colleges and universities dedicate themselves to an ongoing fulfillment of the Division III mission of passion, responsibility, sportsmanship, and citizenship.

The Fitchburg State University field hockey team will open its 2018 campaign on Friday, August 31st as it travels to New England College at 6 p.m.

PORTIONS OF RELEASE COURTESY OF THE LEC SID OFFICE

Little East Conference

2018 Field Hockey Preseason Poll