NORFOLK, Va. – The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NHFCA) has released their 2015 Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll on Tuesday, and the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs will start the season ranked sixteenth out of 20 teams.
Old Dominion earned 349 points and will once again face a gauntlet of the nation’s best as the Monarchs will square off with eight teams ranked in the top 20 this campaign, including six of the top 10.
ODU’s 22-player roster features three returning all-conference players in seniors Sarah Breen and Caitlin Walsh along with junior Megan Byas. Breen, Byas and senior Emily Harting opened the 2015 season with a Preseason All-BIG EAST squad selection.
Breen returns as the team’s leading goal-scorer, after notching 10 goals a season ago. She finished the season with a total of 22 points, which ranked second on the team. Breen was awarded First Team All-BIG EAST and Third Team Longstreth/NFHCA All-American honors last season.
Byas, Harting and Walsh controlled the ODU defense that tallied six shutouts and finished the year second in the BIG EAST with a goals-against average of 1.53. Byas finished the season ranked fourth on the team with nine points on three goals and three assists, while Harting and Walsh both notched six points (2g, 2a). At the end of the season, Byas and Walsh both were named Second Team All-BIG EAST.
The Lady Monarchs begin their regular season campaign on Friday when they host to No. 7 Penn State for a 6:00 p.m. contest. ODU then plays American on Sunday at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex at 1:00 p.m.
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Rankings:
1. University of Connecticut *
2. University of North Carolina *
3. University of Maryland *
4. Syracuse University
5. Duke University *
6. Stanford University
7. University at Albany
Tie. Penn State University *
9. University of Virginia *
10. Northwestern University
11. Wake Forest University *
12. University of Louisville
13. Boston College
14. University of Michigan
15. Princeton University
16. Old Dominion University
17. University of Iowa
18. University of Massachusetts
19. Michigan State University *
20. Boston University
* - 2015 ODU opponent