The following information was provided by the Atlantic-10 conference.
“Saint Joseph’s, the two-time defending Atlantic 10 Conference field hockey champion, has been selected as the preseason favorite for the 2023 season. The league announced the annual Preseason Poll and the 11-member Preseason All-Conference team Tuesday ahead of the start of the season on Friday, August 25.
The Hawks were selected first in the poll with 62 total points and six first-place votes. SJU closed out league play last year with a perfect 7-0 record and were 16-5 overall, and closed the season ranked ninth in the NFHCA Coaches Poll. It was the highest end-of-season ranking in program history for Saint Joseph’s, who also recorded its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, topping No. 10 Wake Forest, 3-1.
The Hawks sport four returners on the Preseason All-Conference team, led by 2023 A-10 Offensive Player of the Year Lily Santi, 2022 A-10 Offensive Player of the Year Manu Ghigliotti, 2022 A-10 Rookie of the Year Sol Borensztein, and 2023 All-Conference First Team selection Katy Benton. Saint Joseph’s, which topped UMass 3-0 to capture last year’s A-10 title, will be vying for its third straight title and sixth in the last seven years.
Massachusetts was chosen second in the poll, earning one first place vote and 54 total points. The Minutewomen will have three returners on the preseason squad, led by 2022 All-Conference selections Jess Beech, Mali Herberhold and goalkeeper Myrte Van Herwijnen. The Minutewomen finished last season in second place at 6-1, with the only blemish coming against SJU, and posted a 15-6 record overall.
UMass, which has the most championship titles of any A-10 school, finished last season ranked 21st in the NFHCA poll, and will be looking to capture its 17th league title VCU, which was 4-3 in the A-10 last year and 10-9 overall, was picked third with 46 points and one first place vote. The Rams have two on the Preseason All-Conference Team, Georgia Carr-Brown and Camila Rosenbrock to start the season.
Affiliate member Lock Haven was picked fourth in the Preseason Poll, scoring 38 points. The Bald Eagles return All-Conference First-Teamer Martina Spangenberg, who was named to the 2023 Preseason All-Conference team. Lock Haven will be under the direction of new head coach Anna Rogers, who served as a longtime assistant for LHU legend and the 2023 A-10 Coach of the Year Pat Rudy, who recently retired.
Richmond was fifth with 36 points and La Salle was sixth with 26 points. The Explorers’ Tatum Johnson, a first team all-conference selection a year ago, was named to the 2023 preseason team. Davidson and Saint Louis shared the final two poll spots, recording 13 points each.
The 2023 Atlantic 10 Field Hockey season is set to commence on Friday, August 25 with seven of the eight teams playing season-opening matches. Conference play begins on Friday, Sept. 15 and the 2023 Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Championship will take place Nov. 2-4 at Cary Street Field in Richmond, Va., on the VCU campus.
The league’s eight head coaches voted in both the Preseason poll and All-Conference Team, which is listed below.”
| School (First-Place Votes) | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint Joseph’s (6) | 62 |
| 2 | Massachusetts (1) | 54 |
| 3 | VCU (1) | 46 |
| 4 | Lock Haven | 38 |
| 5 | Richmond | 36 |
| 6 | La Salle | 26 |
| t-7 | Davidson | 13 |
| t-7 | Saint Louis | 13 |
| Name | Class | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tatum Johnson | SR | F | La Salle |
| Martina Spagenberg | SR | MF | Lock Haven |
| Jess Beech | GR | MF | Massachusetts |
| Mali Herberhold | SO | MF/F | Massachusetts |
| Myrte Van Herwijnen | SO | GK | Massachusetts |
| Sol Borensztein | JR | MF | Saint Joseph’s |
| Katy Benton | GR | MF | Saint Joseph’s |
| Manu Ghigliotti | SR | F | Saint Joseph’s |
| Lily Santi | SR | F | Saint Joseph’s |
| Georgia Carr-Brown | SR | F | VCU |
| Camila Rosenbrock | JR | MF/F | VCU |
