MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College field hockey team has been selected sixth in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II National Coaches Poll, as announced Tuesday by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
The Hawks received 33 points in the preseason poll, placing them sixth nationally and one spot ahead of Northeast 10 Conference favorite Assumption University. Shippensburg University, the defending national champion, claimed the top spot with 77 points and five first-place votes, followed by Kutztown University, Newberry College, East Stroudsburg University and West Chester University.
Saint Anselm enters the 2026 season following another historic campaign under head coach Carolyn King-Robitaille and assistant coach Emma Mawn, who were named the NFHCA East Region Coaching Staff of the Year for the second consecutive season. The Hawks finished the 2025 season with a 16-6 overall record, including a 10-2 mark against NE10 competition, and captured the Northeast 10 Championship with a 3-2 double-overtime victory over Bentley University. The conference championship capped an eight-game winning streak and sent Saint Anselm to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the fourth consecutive season and eighth time since King-Robitaille took over the program in 2012.
The Hawks were ranked No. 2 in the 2025 Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II Preseason Poll and remained among the nation's Top 10 throughout the regular season. Saint Anselm was ranked No. 9 or better in each national poll from Sept. 30 through the end of the regular season, ultimately finishing No. 8 in the final poll after bowing out of the NCAA Championship with a First Round loss to Shippensburg.
Junior Meghan Carey returns after earning NFHCA First Team All-East Region honors in 2025, while seniors Laurentien van den Akker and Mackenzie Wehrum return after receiving Second Team All-East Region recognition last season.
The Hawks, who were selected second in the 2026 NE10 Preseason Coaches' Poll, open the 2026 season at home on Saturday, Sep. 5 against Molloy University. The start time is set for 11 a.m. from Grappone Stadium.
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