Falcons Earn Seventh In Pre-Season Field Hockey Poll

Fitchburg State field hockey collects 76 points in LEC Coaches Poll

FITCHBURG, Mass. (August 25, 2010) – The Fitchburg State field hockey team earned seventh place in the 2010 Little East Field Hockey Pre-Season Coaches Poll as announced by the conference office Wednesday morning.

For the first time in program history, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has been projected to win the Little East field hockey regular-season championship outright, according the 2010 preseason coaches’ poll. The Corsairs received nine of the 12 first-place votes and 140 total points to snap No. 2 Keene State College’s five-year strangle hold as the preseason favorite. UMass Dartmouth and the Owls shared the top position in the 2007 preseason survey.

Keene State College and Framingham State University were the only two other teams to eclipse the 100-point barrier in the annual poll. The Owls earned two first-place tallies and 128 total points, while the Rams received the final first-place nod and 115 points. 

Plymouth State University (90), University of Southern Maine (86), Bridgewater State University (77), Fitchburg State University (76), and Westfield State University (63) are predicted to finish fourth through eighth, respectively to fill out the conference championship tournament bracket.

The Little East sponsors a single round-robin conference schedule with each team playing 11 matches. The top eight teams in the final regular-season standings will earn a berth into the 2010 Little East Field Hockey Championship Tournament. The top four seeds earn home field advantage in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, Nov. 2 with the winners advancing to the semifinals two days later.  The highest remaining seed out of the semifinals winners will host the championship round on Saturday, Nov. 6 with the conference champion representing the league in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Completing the preseason poll in projected order of finish are Salem State University (60), Western Connecticut State University (46), Worcester State University (32), Eastern Connecticut State University (18).

For more information regarding Fitchburg State athletics, please contact Sports Information Director, Keith Brouillard at 978-665-3343 or via email at kbrouil3@fitchburgstate.edu.