Christopher Newport women’s field hockey maintain first position in DIII week five poll: NFHCA

Christopher Newport’s Lily Kerr and Lindsey Loar set records for the Captains this past week.

Christopher Newport women’s college field hockey reached new heights this week as two athletes set career milestones.

Lindsey Loar scored her second career hat-trick, becoming only the eighth Captain in program history to record multiple hat-tricks. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Lily Kerr set a new program record with 55 career wins, the most among all active NCAA goalkeepers.

Kerr also ranks 22nd on the all-time Division III charts, solidifying her place among the nation’s top players.

The National Field Hockey Coaches Association released their week five Division III rankings on Tuesday.

Bowdoin emerged as a team to keep an eye on, pulling off two major upsets.

The No. 8 Polar Bears first defeated No. 11 Williams 1-0 in overtime, with Clara Noyes scoring the game-winner. They followed that with a 2-1 shootout victory over then-No. 2 Middlebury, the reigning national champions, shaking up the top of the rankings.

Salisbury, up to No. 3, continued its dominant start with its sixth consecutive shutout, cruising to an 8-0 victory over Oswego State. No. 5 Bates also made headlines, defeating No. 11 Williams and achieving the best start in program history.

Other top 20 matchups featured No. 2 Johns Hopkins handing No. 13 Dickinson their first loss of the season, blanking the Red Devils 3-0, and No. 16 Rowan edging then-No. 20 Lynchburg 4-3 in overtime, with Gracie Merrick scoring the decisive goal. Wesleyan, No. 14,  broke a nearly two-decade drought against No. 21 Amherst, as Georgia Adams’ 36th-minute goal secured a 1-0 win, the Cardinals’ first over the Mammoths since 2005.

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. Stevenson, 10-1 (unranked)

24. SUNY Geneseo, 10-1 (24)

23. Haverford, 9-1 (unranked)

22. Rochester, 11-2 (22)

21. Amherst, 5-5 (16)

20. TCNJ, 6-3 (18)

19. York (PA), 5-5 (13)

18. Lynchburg, 7-3 (20)

17. Franklin & Marshall, 8-2 (19)

16. Rowan, 8-3 (20)

15. Shenandoah, 8-2 (15)

14. Wesleyan, 5-3 (17)

13. Dickinson, 10-1 (14)

12. Endicott, 10-1 (12)

11. Williams, 6-3 (7)

10. Hamilton, 8-3 (10)

9. Stevens, 9-1 (9)

8. Bowdoin, 7-2 (11)

7. Tufts, 8-2 (8)

6. Babson, 10-1 (6)

5. Bates, 9-1 (5)

4. Middlebury, 8-2 (2)

3. Salisbury, 9-1 (4)

2. Johns Hopkins, 9-1 (3)

1. Christopher Newport, 11-0 (1)

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