Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll — Week 2
— NFHCA (@NFHCA) September 14, 2021
The headline: @SJUHawks_FH jumps eight spots to number nine.
Review the full top-25: https://t.co/vQJeQwq04F pic.twitter.com/OPoYrth0Vg
SJU.Hawks.com On the back of a pair of wins over top-10 teams, the Saint Joseph’s field hockey team is ranked ninth in the newest NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll, released on Tuesday afternoon.
The ranking is the highest in program history after SJU was ranked 10th during both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The Hawks jumped eight spots, up from 17th in last week’s poll, and were the poll’s biggest riser.
On Friday, the Hawks knocked off the three-time defending national champions, then-#4 North Carolina, 3-2, before toppling then-#8 Rutgers, 2-1, on Sunday. Freke van Tilburg tallied twice against UNC and once more against Rutgers to earn Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Manu Ghigliotti added a goal on Sunday to nab A-10 Rookie of the Week accolades. Katy Benton made it a clean sweep of the weekly conference honors as she was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week after helping spearhead an outstanding team defensive effort across both games and adding a pair of assists against the Tar Heels.
This weekend the Hawks play away games, but will stay local against Big Five rivals Penn, Friday, 9/17 3:00 and Temple, Sunday, 9/19 12:00.
They’ll be back in Merion at Ellen Ryan Field against #19 Delaware, on Friday, October 1, 3:00,