LEC Pre-Season Field Hockey Poll Announced

Falcons collect 73 points to place seventh overall

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

The defending post-season LEC Champions of Keene State University have been picked to hoist the league trophy as the Little East Conference announced the 2019 Field Hockey Preseason Poll on Thursday. The Owls received eight of 12 possible first-place votes to top the poll with 138 points.

As voted upon by the LEC's 13 head coaches, Castleton, the defending LEC regular-season champions, garnered the second spot in the results, receiving three first place nods to total 130 points. Third place was earned by Worcester State, which notched two first place votes for a total of 126 points.   

The fourth and fifth slots in the preseason poll went to Southern Maine (105 points) and Western Connecticut State (104 points), respectively.

Rounding out the poll results were Plymouth State (76), Fitchburg State (73), Bridgewater State (65), Westfield State (64), Eastern Connecticut State (60), UMass Dartmouth (36), Framingham State (21) and Salem State (16).

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. 13th. The top eight teams in the final regular season conference standings will participate in the 2019 Little East Field Hockey Championship, with the tournament winner earning the league's automatic berth to the 2098 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship. The tournament is scheduled to begin on November 5th, with the championship match slated for November 9th.

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 2019 campaign on Friday, August 30th as it hosts the Pilgrims of New England College at 4 p.m.

PORTIONS OF RELEASE COURTESY OF THE LEC SID OFFICE

Little East Conference

2019 Field Hockey Preseason Poll