Aug. 25, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. — Coming off its sixth straight Patriot League title, the American University field hockey team will start the season tied for 14th in the 2009 Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll released Tuesday.

American, which finished the 2008 season ranked 14th, begins the season tied with Boston College with 140 points.

The University of Maryland earned 24 first-place votes and 573 points to receive the No. 1 preseason ranking, while Wake Forest (513), Syracuse (464), North Carolina (440) and UConn (402) round out the top five. For the entire top 20 poll, click here.

American, led by 11th-year head coach Steve Jennings, is the only Patriot League team ranked in the top 20. Bucknell, which fell 5-2 in the League championship game to American, earned four points in the poll.

The Eagles return the League's Defensive Player of the Year, Anne-Meike De Wiljes, and Rookie of the Year, Tatum Dyer. All-League second team keeper Alyssa Poorman, who has 15 career shutouts, also returns for the Eagles.

American won a NCAA Play-In game, 2-0 over Lock Haven, to advance to the NCAA Tournament first round against Wake Forest where the Demon Deacons won 7-1.

The Eagles, who finished 13-8 overall and 5-0 in the League, will open the 2009 season in Richmond, Va., with a game against Indiana at 11 a.m. on Friday. They'll face Richmond at 1 p.m. the following day.