2012 CAA Field Hockey Final Report
Five CAA field hockey
players were selected to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA)
All-America team, with Northeastern's Crystal Poland highlighting the list as a
first-team All-American. Drexel's Amanda Fleischut and ODU's Christy Longacre
picked up second-team All-America honors, while ODU's Sarah Breen and
Northeastern's Deirdre Duke were named to the third team.
Northeastern senior
forward Crystal Poland was selected as the 2012 NFHCA Northeast Region Player
of the Year in a vote by the region's head coaches. Poland, the 2012 CAA Player
of the Year and a First Team All-CAA selection, led Northeastern to a 14-7
overall record (5-2 CAA) and a 2012 NCAA Tournament appearance. The Crofton,
British Columbia native recorded 63 points on 28 goals and 13 assists and was
selected as a member of the 2012 CAA All-Tournament Team.
Nineteen CAA field hockey
players were named to the 2012 Longstreth / NFHCA Division I All-Region Teams,
including seven named to first teams.
Old Dominion concluded its
season on Nov. 11 as it fell to top-seeded North Carolina 3-1 in the NCAA Field
Hockey Championship second round. ODU finishes the season with a 15-6 record
including a perfect 7-0 record in conference play.
Senior forward Maartje van
Rijswijk tied an NCAA record for most goals in an NCAA tournament game, scoring
five, to lead the No. 8 Old Dominion University field hockey team to a 6-1
victory over Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on November
10th.
Drexel University's field
hockey program's historic season came to an end with a 5-0 loss to No. 2
Princeton in the opening round of its first ever automatic bid to the NCAA
Championships hosted at the University of Virginia. The Dragons held the Tigers
to one goal after the first 35 minutes of play, but Princeton went on a
four-goal spurt in the second half securing the lead until the game clock
expired. Drexel, the 2012 Colonial Athletic Association Champions, finished the
season 15-7 overall (5-2 CAA).
Northeastern field hockey,
charged with visiting the third seed in the 2012 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament,
more than lived up to the challenge provided, but in the end, it was the
Huskies donning the navy and white of University of Connecticut who came away
with the 2-1 double overtime victory. NU (14-7, 5-2) was without CAA Player of
the Year, Crystal Poland, who was sidelined with an injury,
Top-seeded Drexel won its
first ever CAA Field Hockey Championship on November 4th after scoring the
game-winning goal three minutes into overtime and securing a 2-1 victory over
second-seeded Northeastern. The Dragons earned the CAA's automatic berth into
the NCAA Tournament, also the first in school history.
The CAA was represented by three teams in the
final NFHCA Top 25 poll released on November 6th. Old Dominion topped the list,
ranking eighth. Also in the rankings was Northeastern at No. 12 and Drexel at
No. 15. All three schools were ranked in the poll the entire 2012 season with
ODU peaking at No. 5th on Sept. 4, Drexel at No. 15 on three occasions, and NU
at No. 7 on Sept. 11th. William & Mary also spent four weeks in the
rankings, peaking at No. 19 on Oct. 2nd.