UAlbany #19 In NCAA Field Hockey Preseason Poll

Preseason Rankings

The University at Albany field hockey team is ranked 19th in the STX/NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll, as announced on Wednesday afternoon.

The Great Danes, who were also ranked 19th in the final NFHCA poll of last season, begin play on Saturday, as they take on Radford before facing 15th-ranked American on Sunday. Six of the teams UAlbany will face this season are ranked in the national top 20, with another five teams receiving votes in the poll. Connecticut, a team that the Great Danes will face on Oct. 12, start the season as the highest-ranked team on the schedule, earning the fourth-place spot on the preseason poll. America East Conference rival Boston U. finished 14th in the preseason voting.

UAlbany, which earned the top ranking in the America East preseason coaches’ poll, returns senior midfielder Michelle Simpson, a two-time all-conference player who earned second-team All-America honors last season after recording 34 total points. Also returning is senior goalkeeper Ashley Ross, who led the America East and was fourth in the nation with a 1.14 goals against average.

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2008 STX/NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll

1. North Carolina, 2. Maryland, 3. Wake Forest, 4. Connecticut, 5. Iowa, 6. Penn State, 7. James Madison, 8. Old Dominion, 9. Michigan, 10. Michigan State, 11. Virginia, 12. Duke, 13. Boston College, 14. Boston University, 15. American, 16. Princeton, 17. Louisville, 18. Syracuse, 19. UAlbany, 20. Ohio.