LEC Pre-Season Field Hockey Poll Annouced

Falcons collect 46 points for tenth pick overall

FITCHBURG, Mass. (August 27, 2013) – The Fitchburg State field hockey team was recently ranked tenth in the Little East Conference (LEC) Pre-Season Coaches Poll as voted on by the league coaches.

UMass Dartmouth has been chosen as the favorite to claim the Little East field hockey regular-season title, earning eight of the 12 first place votes for a total of 139 points. Keene State placed in second with a total of 128 points, which included one first place vote, while Plymouth State followed in third with 117 points (2 first place votes).

Bridgewater State was picked fourth in the poll with 109 points, including the final first place ballot, while Westfield State rounded out the top five, totaling 79 points. The University of Southern Maine and Western Connecticut State followed in sixth and seventh place with 76 points and 62 points respectively.

Salem State placed eighth with 60 points, while Worcester State followed in ninth with 53 points. Fitchburg State finished with 46 points to place tenth, while Framingham State and Eastern Connecticut State rounded out this year’s poll with 40 points and 22 points respectively.

 The Little East will sponsor a round-robin conference schedule with each team meeting each other once in the regular season. The top-eight teams in the final regular-season standings advance to the 2013 Little East Field Hockey Championship with the four highest seeds earning home field advantage in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, November 5. The Little East Championship match is scheduled for Saturday, November 9 at the highest remaining seed 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 2013 season on Thursday September 5th, as it hosts Johnson & Wales University for a match starting at 7 p.m.