NFHCA Poll
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Continuing to receive high marks in the NFHCA National Coaches Poll, the Christopher Newport field hockey team held down the No. 3 spot in the latest rankings, which were released by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association on Tuesday morning.
In the poll, CNU earned 444 total points to finish third overall. Tufts remained at the top of the rankings after garnering all 19 first-place votes, while Middlebury slid into second. Later, Stevenson and Williams rounded out the top-five.
After opening the year ranked fourth in the nation, the Captains spent three weeks slotted first in the poll before settling into second last week. Christopher Newport has held down a spot in the top-25 in 41 consecutive polls dating back to October 25, 2022. Remarkably, that stretch encompasses the entire career of every single player on the current roster.
CNU earned its latest ranking after improving to 8-1 on the season with a 10-0 triumph over Batten last Wednesday. Aided by that performance, the Captains moved to third in the country in both scoring offense and scoring defense. So far this season, the squad is averaging 4.56 goals per game while surrendering just 0.33 per contest.
Currently, Christopher Newport is the only team in the country ranked in the top-10 in both scoring offense and defense.
Adding another layer to the team's performance this season, CNU has accomplished all of that while facing one of the most difficult schedules in the country. Four of the squad's previous opponents also earned a spot in the latest rankings. The Captains already defeated No. 9 Babson, No. 16 Endicott, and No. 18 Washington and Lee, while they dropped a hard-fought 1-0 overtime decision to No. 2 Middlebury in a neutral-site tilt on September 27.
Along with its past opposition, Christopher Newport also has a future match-up at No. 6 Salisbury on October 17.
The Captains will return to action on October 11 when they travel to Roger Williams for a 1 p.m. showdown in Bristol, Rhode Island.
---ISH---
