LANCASTER, Pa. – The St. Mary’s College of Maryland field hockey team was selected second in the 2021 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Preseason Coaches Poll, released Monday morning. 2021 will be the first season of Atlantic East play for St. Mary’s College as the Seahawks were added as an affiliate field hockey member of the conference in 2020.
“We are thrilled to be in the top-2 for the preseason poll. We are extremely excited to take on a new challenge competing in the AEC for the first time in our program and look forward to great competition,” sixth-year head coach Jessica Lanham said.
In 2019, the Seahawks won a program-record 13 contests in finishing the campaign with a 13-5 (2-3 CAC) record in their season as a member of the Capital Athletic Conference. St. Mary’s College advanced to the semifinals of the CAC Tournament, falling 2-1 to Christopher Newport University.
The defending 2019 Atlantic East champion, Marywood University earned top billing in this year’s preseason coaches poll with 21 points and two first-place votes. The Pacers captured the program’s first-ever Atlantic East title after defeating Wesley College, the 2018 AEC champion, by a 2-1 margin.
St. Mary’s tallied 19 points and picked up two first-place votes as well to take second in this year’s preseason coaches poll, two points behind Marywood and two points ahead of third-place Gwynedd Mercy University. Cabrini University rounded out the top-4 with 16 points. Gwynedd Mercy and Cabrini each garnered one first-place vote.
Immaculata University and Neumann University finished out the preseason poll in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
The 2021 Atlantic East Tournament will get underway with quarterfinal action on Saturday, October 30, followed by the semifinals on Wednesday, November 3, and the championship on Saturday, November 6.
The Seahawks begin the 2021 campaign on Wednesday, September 1, hosting York College of Pennsylvania at 5:00 p.m. for Youth Day on the turf field at the Jamie L. Roberts Stadium Complex.
2021 Atlantic East Field Hockey Preseason Coaches’ Poll 1. Marywood 21 points (2) 2. St. Mary’s College 19 points (2) 3. Gwynedd Mercy 17 points (1) 4. Cabrini 16 points (1) 5. Immaculata 11 points 6. Neumann 6 points
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