Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. – Following a 9-7 season in 2018 that included a 4-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play, the Longwood field hockey team was predicted to finish third in the preseason coaches' poll, as announced by the conference Monday afternoon.
 
The Lancers' 2019 squad will welcome back a senior class of four returning starters, including two All-MAC performers in forward Olivia Wawrzyniak and goalkeeper Katie Wyman, as well as senior midfielder Briana Greene and senior defender Clara Meschini. Impact sophomore midfielder Luna Lopez also returns for her second season after being named MAC Freshman of the Year, and will anchor a Longwood backfield that last season allowed the second-fewest goals and shots on goal in the MAC.
 
The Lancers enter 2019 on the heels of three consecutive top-three finishes in the Mid-American Conference. They will look to upend two-time champion and preseason favorite Miami (Ohio), which picked up five of the seven possible first place votes. Kent State, which also received a first-place vote, slots in at two after compiling a 5-1 record in the MAC on the way to a runner-up finish. Ohio received the final first-place vote and is predicted to finish fourth just behind Longwood.
 
Longwood's third-place prediction comes on the strength of a three-run run in the MAC that has included three consecutive top-three finishes and a conference record of 11-7 during that tear. The Lancers will look to return to the semifinals of the MAC tournament for the third time in four years when postseason play begins on Wednesday, Nov. 6 in Oxford, Ohio.
 
Longwood will open their season against Monmouth on Friday, Aug. 30 at 12 p.m.
 
2019 MAC Field Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll Results
 
1. Miami – 45 (5)
2. Kent State – 38 (1)
3. Longwood – 36
4. Ohio – 30 (1)
5. Appalachian State - 20
6. Ball State – 18
7. Central Michigan – 9
 
Tournament Champion- Miami (5), Kent State (1), Appalachian State (1)
 
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