November 10, 2009

Salisbury ranked No. 2 in final coaches poll of 2009

CHANDLER, Ariz. - The Salisbury University field hockey team closed out the regular season in the same spot it has been for the last eight weeks - ranked No. 2 in the nation. The final regular-season Kookaburra/NFHCA (National Field Hockey Coaches Association) Division III poll was released on Tuesday and the Sea Gulls remained in the second position with 574 points.

Salisbury enters play in the NCAA tournament on Saturday, when the Sea Gulls will host the second round of the tournament; their match will begin at 10 a.m. The Sea Gulls got a bye through the first round and await the winner of Wednesday's Hamilton College-College of Wooster match.

The No. 1 team in the final poll was again Messiah College (620 points, 31 first-place votes) while Ursinus College (547 points), Tufts University (517) and SUNY Cortland (499) round out the top five. SUNY Cortland is the other team that has gotten a bye into the second round at Sea Gull Stadium. The Red Dragons will take on the winner of Wednesday's Christopher Newport University-Cabrini College match. The second-round game will begin at 1 p.m.

Saturday's winners will face off on Sunday, at 1 p.m., at Sea Gull Stadium. The winner will advance to the national semifinals on Nov. 21, at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass.

2009 Kookaburra/NFHCA Division III National Coaches Polls