BOSTON – With America East field hockey teams preparing to take the turf to open the season, the conference announced the preseason poll. Entering its second season in the league, Monmouth was deemed league favorite by the nine head coaches who were not allowed to vote for their own team.
Three programs received at least one first-place vote, led by the Hawks who received five for a total of 60 points on the heels of winning the 2019 East Division regular season title and advancing to the #AEFH championship game. Maine earned a top-two spot for the sixth-straight year courtesy of a trio of first-place votes and 56 points. Stanford received the final first-place vote and was tied with UAlbany with 46 points. For the 2021 spring season, the teams have combined into one division.
Here is the full poll:
Spring 2021 America East Field Hockey Preseason Poll
No. School Points (1st Place Votes)
1. Monmouth 60 (5)
2. Maine 56 (3)
3. Stanford 46 (1)
UAlbany 46
5. New Hampshire 32
6. California 29
7. UMass Lowell 21
8. Vermont 18
9. UC Davis 16
All-Americans Cassandra Mascarenhas (Maine) and Corinne Zanolli (Stanford) headline the group of returners.
New Hampshire is scheduled to be the first team in action this weekend as the Wildcats travel to UConn Sunday, Feb. 21. Conference play is scheduled to begin the weekend of March 19 with all nine teams scheduled to play non-divisional action. California, UC Davis and Stanford will travel east throughout the season to play games against conference opponents. Due to COVID-19 schedules are subject to change.
The #AEFH championship is scheduled for April 22 starting with two semifinal games before the title game on April 24. The league champion will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where UAlbany advanced to the Final Four in 2014.
Fans will once again be able to watch the majority of #AEFH this season. Select games will air on The AE on ESPN while others will air on AmericaEast.TV. Those games will be available on computers, OTT devices and the brand new America East app, which is available on all IOS and Android devices and can be found by searching ‘America East Conference’ in app stores.
Follow the @AEDigitalNet Twitter account to stay up-to-date on America East women’s lacrosse news all season long and use #AEFH to join the conversation.
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
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