DIII women’s field hockey poll reshuffles after several upsets: NFHCA

Tori Swanson (Endicott), Emily Smith (Wesleyan), and Caitlin Hoover (F&M) are having standout seasons.

The Endicott women’s field hockey team are ranked No. 10 in this week’s Division III National Field Hockey Coaches poll.

The team celebrated a decisive 8-1 victory, which was head coach Jodi Cipolla’s 250th career win, on October 8 against Saint Joseph’s in Maine.

Forward Tori Swanson led the way for the team, netting four goals and recording her seventh career hat trick, tying her personal best for goals in a single game.

Since then, they’ve also collected two more shutouts beating Nichols 9-0 and Trinity in Connecticut 6-0.

The National Field Hockey Coaches Association released its week six Division III rankings on Tuesday. The top three teams remain, with Christopher Newport retaining No. 1.

Washington and Lee University is welcomed to the leaderboard at No. 25. The last time the Generals were ranked was in 2023 during the preseason poll, where they claimed the No. 16 spot.

F&M’s Caitlin Hoover made history by recording her fifth career hat trick, all delivered during the third quarter. Hoover’s three-goal performance powered the Diplomats to a 6-2 victory over Gettysburg, setting a new program record for career hat tricks.

Upsets were a major storyline this week, as No. 12 Stevens fell 3-2 in overtime to No. 20 Stevenson.

Wesleyan, No. 11, pulled off an historic upset, defeating No. 7 Middlebury in double overtime and handing the seven-time defending NCAA champions their first home loss to the Cardinals in program history.

The epic goal was scored by Emily Smith and assisted by Natalie Shaw. It was Smith’s second goal of the season.

Wesleyan also defeated No. 15 Williams the day prior.

According to the NFHCA, the poll is voted on by designated NFHCA member coaches from each conference and has no bearing on selection to the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship.

Bolded teams have moved positions higher or lower from week-to-week.

25. Washington and Lee, 8-3 (unranked)

24. Rochester, 11-4 (22)

23. SUNY Geneseo, 13-1 (24)

22. York (PA), 7-5 (19)

21. TCNJ, 8-3 (20)

20. Stevenson, 12-1 (25)

19. Haverford, 11-1 (23)

18. Franklin & Marshall, 9-3 (17)

17. Shenandoah, 9-3 (15)

16. Lynchburg, 9-3 (18)

15. Williams, 6-5 (11)

14. Rowan, 10-3 (16)

13. Dickinson, 11-1 (13)

12. Stevens Institute of Technology, 10-2 (9)

11. Wesleyan, 8-3 (14)

10. Endicott, 13-1 (12)

9. Hamilton, 9-3 (10)

8. Bowdoin, 9-2 (8)

7. Middlebury, 9-3 (4)

6. Bates, 9-2 (5)

5. Tufts, 10-2 (7)

4. Babson, 12-1 (6)

3. Salisbury, 9-2 (3)

2. Johns Hopkins, 11-1 (2)

1. Christopher Newport, 13-0 (1)

Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Sydney Madden is a student-intern at Penn State University.