Shenandoah moves to No. 19 after double-OT upset of No. 7 Franklin & Marshall in Division III NFHCA poll

Shenandoah field hockey battled for their latest spot in the week three NFHCA poll.

The latest Division III National Field Hockey Coaches Association rankings rewarded teams that paired strong records with statement wins, but the top of the poll remained steady. 

The NFHCA publishes polls every Tuesday during the regular college field hockey season. The Week 3 poll continues to feature familiar names.  

Christopher Newport held No. 1 with all 19 first-place votes, while unbeaten Salisbury and Tufts stayed close behind. Beneath them, a weekend of one-goal games, overtime drama and top-10 upsets created the biggest movement. 

Shenandoah had the weekend’s clearest upset.

The Hornets rose one spot to No. 19 after first-year Rylin McCloskey scored her first collegiate goal 1:39 into the second overtime to beat then-No. 7 Franklin & Marshall 1-0.

Goalkeeper Cassidy Alexander made eight saves as Shenandoah survived a 15-8 shot deficit and handed the Diplomats their first loss. 

Bowdoin made the week’s biggest top-10 jump, climbing six places to No. 9.  

The Polar Bears beat Wesleyan, 2-1, and followed with a 1-0 shutout of Williams. Junior midfielder Hannah Balmelli scored in both victories and was named NESCAC Player of the Week; Katie Athanasoulas delivered the late winner against Wesleyan, while goalkeeper Eva Filipponi helped anchor the defensive weekend. 

Johns Hopkins won, but slipped one place to No. 5.  

The Blue Jays controlled much of their scoreless battle with Washington and Lee, outshooting the Generals 20-4, then converted all four shootout attempts for a 4-2 shootout edge. Sarah Chilton, Caeli Robinson, Ada Farmer and Sophia Builione scored in the tiebreaker, while Jessica Lapidus stopped one attempt.

Washington and Lee goalkeeper Helenka Chodakiewicz kept the game scoreless through 80 minutes with six saves. 

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 week three coaches poll: 

25. Lynchburg, 4-4 (24) 

24. Swarthmore, 4-2 (unranked) 

23. Ithaca, 6-2 (23) 

22. Mary Washington, 4-1 (21) 

21. Bates, 3-2 (unranked) 

20. The College of New Jersey, 4-2 (19) 

19. Shenandoah, 5-1 (20) 

18. SUNY Cortland, 5-0 (22) 

17. Washington and Lee, 3-2 (18) 

15. Endicott, 5-2 (16) 

15. Amherst, 3-2 (17) 

14. Stevens, 4-2 (9) 

13. Ursinus, 5-1 (14) 

12. Wesleyan, 3-1 (10) 

11. Stevenson, 6-0 (12) 

10. Hamilton, 4-1 (13) 

9. Bowdoin, 4-1 (15) 

8. Franklin & Marshall, 5-1 (7) 

7. Babson, 5-2 (6) 

6. Middlebury, 4-1 (8) 

5. Johns Hopkins, 4-2 (4) 

4. Williams, 5-1 (5) 

3. Tufts, 5-0 (2) 

2. Salisbury, 5-0 (2) 

1. Christopher Newport, 5-0 (1) 

*Simmie Samra is a student-intern at Penn State University.  

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