Field Hockey Ranked Eighth to Open 2023
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Four days out from the 2023 season opener and the Syracuse University field hockey team will begin the fresh campaign ranked eighth in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll.
The National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association (NFHCA) released its preseason poll Tuesday afternoon.
Syracuse, which went 16-6 last season and reached the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals for a second-straight year, garnered 589 points.
Reigning national champion North Carolina was voted first with 955 points and 29 first-place selections, while Northwestern (914, 13) and Maryland (871, 6) were second and third. Michigan was fourth with 751 points and one first-place vote while Penn State was fifth with 719 points and one first-place vote.
All told, all seven ACC field hockey teams were ranked in the preseason poll: No. 1 UNC, No. 6 Virginia, No. 8 Syracuse, No. 9 Louisville, No. 12 Wake Forest, No. 17 Boston College, and No. 20 Duke.
The eighth-ranked Orange open the 2023 season on Saturday, taking on Sacred Heart in Burlington, Vermont. The 2 p.m. game at Moulton Winder Field, located on campus at University of Vermont, will be carried on AmericaEast.tv. Saturday’s showdown will be the debut for Lynn Farquhar, entering her first season at the helm of the Orange.
