Tufts is still unbeaten in NCAA Division III field hockey. The Jumbos beat Bowdoin 1-0 on Tuesday. Photos: Bowdoin and Tufts athletic departments
Bowdoin climbed two spots to No. 4, but unbeaten Tufts continues to be the team to beat, in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III poll.
With the postseason approaching, the NFHCA coaches poll offers a current overview of the national field. It is published weekly throughout the college field hockey season.
Bowdoin’s climb from No. 6 was followed by a comeback win against Connecticut College. The Polar Bears surrendered a goal in the opening 36 seconds before answering in the second half.
Maddie Mrva got Bowdoin on the board, and Charlotte Crawford followed minutes later with a third-quarter goal.
The Polar Bears outshot Connecticut College 14-7 and extended their winning streak to eight games.
Tufts entered Tuesday night’s regular-season finale — the day of the NFHCA’s poll publishing — against Bowdoin at 14-0.
The Jumbos remain the unanimous No. 1 team in week eight, having received all 18 first-place votes in the Oct. 27 poll.
Tufts ousted Bowdoin Tuesday evening in a respectable 1-0 showing to end Bowdoin’s regular college field hockey season.
According to the university’s athletic department, it's the second undefeated conference season in program history for the Jumbos, and the first 10-0 finish in the New England Small College Athletic Conference.
Elsewhere in the poll, Stevenson slipped while Scranton made a three-spot jump north. Stevenson moved to No. 5 with a 14-1 record through Monday night.
Scranton improved to 14-2 with a 3-2 win over Catholic, scoring all three goals in the first quarter. The Royals are 8-0 in Landmark Conference play and have secured the top seed.
According to the NFHCA, “the poll is intended to provide a weekly snapshot of the nation’s top-performing programs based on results, strength of competition, and insight from the sport’s coaching community. Beginning after the second week of regular-season competition, teams must maintain a .500 record or better to be eligible for ranking consideration.
“These rankings reflect the collective assessment of the designated voting coaches each week and are designed to spotlight performance on a national scale. The Coaches Polls are independent of the NCAA Championship selection process and are not intended to predict or determine postseason qualification or seeding.”
Here are the DIII college field hockey teams with the most votes in the NFHCA eight nine coaches poll:
25. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 13-2 (unranked)
24. Shenandoah, 12-3 (22)
23. Endicott, 13-4 (21)
22. Scranton, 14-2 (25)
21. Messiah, 10-5 (23)
20. Bates, 8-6 (20)
19. Washington and Lee, 11-3 (19)
18. Babson, 12-6 (17)
17. York College of Pennsylvania, 12-4 (18)
16. Amherst, 8-6 (14)
15. SUNY Cortland, 11-3 (13)
14. Swarthmore, 11-4 (16)
13. Ursinus, 11-4 (15)
12. Franklin & Marshall, 11-4 (10)
11. Wesleyan, 9-5 (12)
10. Rowan, 14-3 (10)
9. Johns Hopkins, 12-4 (9)
8. Williams, 10-4 (8)
7. Salisbury, 11-3 (7)
6. Hamilton, 11-4 (5)
5. Stevenson, 14-1 (4)
4. Bowdoin, 12-2 (6)
3. Christopher Newport, 12-1 (3)
2. Middlebury, 12-2 (2)
1. Tufts, 14-0 (1)
*Simmie Samra is a student-intern at Penn State University.
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