Liberty University upset No. 1 North Carolina over the weekend.
The victory gives the Flames a bump in week six of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association’s poll sponsored by Penn Monto. Liberty won in 2-1 in double overtime.
Northwestern is on a 12 game winning streak. Its latest takedown was against Iowa, a 2-0 shutout on the road.
“The NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll is voted on by NFHCA member coaches and has no bearing on selection to the 2023 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship,” according to the NFHCA. “After two weeks of regular season competition, eligible teams must maintain a record of .500 or above to be eligible for ranking each week. The Ivy League Conference is an exception to this criteria the week of Sept 4 based on their different schedule. Beginning the week of Sept 11, all programs ranked in the top 20 must have a record of 0.500 or above.”
????? ???? ???? ??!!!
No. 10 Liberty has defeated No. 1 North Carolina 2-1 in double overtime!#CatchingFire ???? #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/tIo9M1FfYW
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) October 8, 2023
Here are the Division I teams coaches ranked in the top 20 in week six:
20. UMass-Lowell, 10-3, previous rank No. 17
19. Albany, 9-3, previous rank No. 18
18. Cornell, 8-3, previous rank No. 20
17. UMass, 8-6, previous rank No. 19
16. Michigan, 6-6, previous rank No. 15
15. Penn State, 6-5, previous rank No. 16
14. Saint Joseph’s, 10-4, no change
13. Syracuse, 9-3, previous rank No. 12
12. Boston College, 8-5, no change
11. Harvard, 9-3, previous rank No. 13
10. Maryland, 10-3, previous rank No. 9
9. The Ohio State, 12-3, previous rank No. 7
8. Virginia, 7-5, previous rank No. 8
7. Liberty, 12-1, previous rank No. 10
6. Iowa, 10-2, previous rank No. 3
5. Louisville, 11-1, no change
4. Rutgers, 12-0, previous rank No. 6
3. North Carolina, 9-2, previous rank No. 1
2. Duke, 12-1, previous rank No. 4
1. Northwestern, 12-1, previous rank No. 2
Photo: Jana Benscoter, Liberty at Villanova 2022
