Fitchburg State Ranked Fifth In LEC Pre-Season Poll

UMass Dartmouth selected as pre-season favorite with 140 points

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. (August 25, 2011) – The Fitchburg State field hockey team was recently ranked fifth in the Little East Conference, Pre-Season Coaches Poll as selected by the league coaches Thursday morning.

For the second-straight season, UMass Dartmouth has been chosen as the favorite to claim the Little East field hockey regular-season title, earning nine of the 12 first-place votes and a total of 140 points. Keene State and Plymouth State were the only two other institutions to break the 100-point barrier with the Owls edging the Panthers by just four points (129-125). Keene State received one first-place tally, while Plymouth State earned the remaining two votes.

The following three teams in the preseason survey were separated by just four points with Southern Maine (87) edging Fitchburg State (86) and Bridgewater State (84). The top-four teams in the final regular-season standings earn home field advantage in the quarterfinal round of the 2011 Little East Field Hockey Championship Tournament.

The LEC sponsors an 11-game conference schedule with each team playing each other once. The top-eight teams in the final regular-season standings advance to the 2011 Little East Field Hockey Championship. The tournament will feature three rounds with the highest seed in each contest earning home field advantage. The championship match is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 5 with the tournament champion receiving the conference’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The Fitchburg State field hockey team will open its 2011 season on Thursday September 1st, as it travels to WPI for a match starting at 4:30 p.m. For more information regarding Falcon Athletics, please contact Sports Information Director, Keith Brouillard at 978-665-3343.