OLD DOMINION FAVORED TO DEFEND AS CAA FIELD HOCKEY CHAMPIONS IN 2011
RICHMOND,
Va. (August 15, 2011) -- Defending
conference champion Old Dominion has been selected as the favorite to win the
CAA field hockey crown in 2011 according to a vote by the league's head
coaches.
The Lady Monarchs received eight
first-place votes and 64 total points to take the top spot in the poll. Drexel,
which finished atop the CAA regular-season standings in 2010, received the
other first place vote and placed second with 50 points. James Madison was
picked third with 47 points, just edging out Northeastern, which took fourth
place with 45 points. Delaware claimed the fifth spot with 33 total points,
followed by VCU (31), William & Mary (25), Hofstra (20) and Towson (9).
Old Dominion will look to build from
last season's 13-11 squad that advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Field
Hockey Championship after upsetting No. 8 Michigan. The Lady Monarchs will be
led by junior forward Maartje van Rijswijk, who earned first-team All-CAA
honors after scoring 16 goals last season, which ranked third in the
conference. Also back is senior forward Kathryn Kirk, a second-team All-CAA
selection from 2010, who had four goals and five assists. Senior goalkeeper
Devon Seifert returns after leading the conference with seven shutouts and
posting a 1.64 goals against average.
Drexel has six returning starters from
last year's 15-5 team that fell to ODU in double overtime in the 2010 CAA
Championship game. Junior midfielder Amanda Fleischut will lead the charge for
the Dragons, after recording five goals and seven assists last season. Also
returning are a pair of CAA All-Rookie Team honorees in Kristen Focht and
Lindsay McArdle.
With five returning starters James Madison is looking to
improve on its 9-10 record from last season. Leading the group of returnees are
senior Lindsay Cutchins and junior Auburn Weisensale. Cutchins was third in the
CAA with 12 assists last season and recorded six goals. Weisensale had five
goals and five assists in 2010.
Northeastern returns a trio of first-team
All-CAA selections from last year's 10-11 squad. Junior forward Crystal Poland
led the Huskies in 2010 with 11 goals and added six assists. Senior midfielder
Kaela Barker topped the team with seven assists and chipped in five goals.
Junior goalkeeper Lizzie Priest averaged 5.1 saves per game and recorded four
shutouts last season.
The CAA had three teams - Old Dominion,
Drexel and VCU - rank within the NCAA Top 25 in RPI in 2010. The conference has
also placed multiple teams in the 16-team NCAA Tournament in two of the past
four seasons.
2011 CAA FIELD HOCKEY PRESEASON COACHES
POLL
1.
Old Dominion (8 first-place votes) 64
2.
Drexel (1 first-place vote) 50
3.
James Madison 47
4.
Northeastern 45
5.
Delaware 33
6.
VCU 31
7.
William & Mary 25
8.
Hofstra 20
9.
Towson 9
(Teams received 8 points for a first-place vote, 7 for second, etc. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.)