Maine, Stanford Are Divisional Picks in #AEFH Preseason Poll
BOSTON – Reigning America East champion Stanford and perennial contender Maine are the America East field hockey preseason divisional favorites in 2017, the conference office announced Wednesday. Preseason poll voting was conducted by the conference’s nine head coaches, who only voted for teams within their own division and were not permitted to vote for their own teams.
Stanford, which won its first-ever America East title last season, was the unanimous pick in the West Division, receiving all three first-place votes and nine points to top the poll. Pacific, which fell to the Cardinal in the league title game a year ago, earned the final first-place tally and six points to place second.
In the East Division, Maine earned three first-place tallies and 15 points to edge out reigning East Division regular-season champion, Albany, which picked up a pair of first-place tallies and 14 points.
Here is the full poll:
2017 #AEFH Preseason Coaches' Poll
East Division
1. Maine (3), 15 pts.
2. Albany (2), 14
3. New Hampshire, 9
4. UMass Lowell, 8
5. Vermont, 4
West Division
1. Stanford (3), 9 pts.
2. Pacific (1), 6
3. California, 5
4. UC Davis, 4
Once of the most competitive field hockey conference's in the country, America East had three programs nationally ranked last season (Stanford, Albany, Maine). In 2015, both the Cardinal and Great Danes qualified for the NCAA tournament, the sixth time America East received multiple bids to the tournament. In 2014, Albany became the third America East program to reach the Final Four.
The field hockey season kicks off Friday, Aug. 25 with eight teams in action. The eight-team America East Championship will be held Nov. 2-5 at UMass Lowell.