Rutgers maintains its pristine undefeated record and settles into No. 4 in week seven of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll sponsored by Penn Monto.
The Scarlet Knights had to muscle their way to a win against Ohio State, which went into shootouts.
Northwestern stays in the No 1 spot for a second consecutive week in a row. North Carolina moves up to No. 2. And, several teams moved a few spots up or down.
“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.”
Friday: 1-0 Win via Penalty Shootout at No. 9 Ohio State
?: https://t.co/gnuiYBGrYhSunday: 3-1 Win at Michigan State
?: https://t.co/zTKbWfXfQiToday: Tied for 1st Place in the Big Ten standings at 5-0 in league play pic.twitter.com/YWa8wGyKkf
— Rutgers Field Hockey (@RUFieldHockey) October 16, 2023
Here are the Division I teams coaches ranked in the top 20 in week seven:
20. Albany, 9-5, previous rank No. 19
19. UMass-Amherst, 9-6, previous rank No. 17
18. UMass-Lowell, 11-3, previous rank No. 20
17. Cornell, 10-3, previous rank No. 18
16. Penn State, 7-6, previous rank No. 15
15. Michigan, 7-7, previous rank No. 16
14. Saint Joseph’s, 11-4, no change
13. Syracuse, 9-5, no change
12. Boston College, 9-5, no change
11. Harvard, 10-3, no change
10. The Ohio State, 12-5, previous rank No. 9
9. Maryland, 12-3, previous No. 10
8. Louisville, 12-3, previous rank No. 5
7. Virginia, 9-5, previous rank No. 8
6. Liberty, 14-1, previous rank No. 7
5. Iowa, 12-2, previous rank No. 6
4. Rutgers, 14-0, no change
3. Duke, 13-2, previous rank No. 2
2. North Carolina, 11-2, previous rank No. 3
1. Northwestern, 13-1, previous rank No. 1
Photo: North Carolina at St. Joe’s, Bob Benscoter
