For the first time in program history, the field hockey team is ranked No. 1 in the nation by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Coaches Poll. With a perfect record in the most competitive conference in Div. III, the Jumbos earned 22 of the 38 votes this week to bump from second to first with 711 points — 27 points ahead of now-No. 2 Lebanon Valley College.
For most of the season, Tufts has plugged along in second place behind the defending champions Salisbury. But, with the Salisbury's recent loss to No. 13 Rowan University and a previous shut-out loss to No. 3 Messiah 3-0, the Seagulls have finally fallen from grace to No. 5.
Though it is undeniably exciting for the Jumbos to see their hard work recognized across the country, the ranking only makes the target on their back that much bigger.
And no one will be gunning for them harder than Bowdoin. With a 9-0 record in the No. 6 slot, Bowdoin is the only team in the top-10 that Tufts will meet in the regular season and arguably the only team with a realistic shot at dethroning Tufts before the NCAA Tournament. The Polar Bears are having an almost identical season to the Jumbos and seem to have bounced back with a vengeance after going 4-5 in the league in 2009. On Oct. 29, there will be a showdown under the lights of Bello Field as the Polar Bears will surely have climbed the rankings by then if they can stay undefeated. It will be a battle for the NESCAC title as well as the NFHCA No. 1 — setting aside the history of a double-overtime national championship game between the two in 2008 — which Tufts entered as the No. 1 seed.
But, the No. 1 ranking is well-deserved. Lebanon Valley may be undefeated, but with a goals-per-game average of 6.33, the team is not competing on a NESCAC level. Below them, Messiah sits in third with two losses on the season: one to No. 10 Eastern University and one to the No. 12 Lynchburg. And in fourth is Ursinus, who has lost only to Messiah, but again — with wins like a 13-0 trampling of lowly Bryn Mawr — its 10-1 record is likely bloated by a weaker schedule.
All in all, the ranking is a long-awaited recognition of a program that has been on the rise under head Coach Tina McDavitt for the last seven seasons. And, though it is said time and again that anything can happen in the NESCAC, the Jumbos are in a prime position to hold onto the top spot for the remainder of the season.
