Hawks Picked to Repeat as A-10 Field Hockey Champs; 11 Players Earn Preseason Honors

8/23/2022 2:00:00 PM

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Saint Joseph’s, the defending Atlantic 10 Conference field hockey champion, has been selected as the preseason favorite for the 2022 season. The league announced the annual Preseason Poll and Preseason All-Conference team Tuesday ahead of the start of the season on Friday, August 26.
 
The Hawks were selected first in the poll with 59 total points and five first-place votes. SJU finished 6-1 in league play last year and 16-5 overall, and closed the season ranked 11th in the NFHCA Coaches Poll. Saint Joseph’s, which edged VCU in the A-10 Championship final 1-0, has four returners on the Preseason All-Conference team, led by A-10 Offensive Player of the Year Manu Ghigliotti, A-10 Rookie of the Year Sol Borensztein, and All-Conference First Team selections Freke van Tilburg and Katy Benton. The NFHCA also announced Tuesday that the Hawks are ranked16th in the country in their coaches poll.
 
Massachusetts was picked second in the poll, earning one first place vote and 55 total points. The Minutewomen will be led by Preseason All-Conference selection Jess Beech, who was All-Conference in 2021, and are coming off a season in which they tied for second with a 5-2 league mark and posted a 13-6 record overall. The Minutewomen are led by the 2021 A-10 Co-Coach of the Year, Barb Weinberg. The NFHCA Tuesday national coaches poll also  includes UMass in the 25th spot.
 
VCU, which was 5-2 in the A-10 last year and 12-6 overall, was picked third with 53 points and two first place votes. The 2020-21 A-10 champions, the Rams have three on the Preseason All-Conference Team, led by Litiana Field and Janne Wetzel, both All-Conference First Team honorees last fall. Bridget McCormick was also named to the preseason team.
 
Richmond was picked fourth in the Preseason Poll, scoring 38 points. The Spiders return Lindsey Frank and goalkeeper Erika Latta, both of whom were named to the Preseason All-Conference team. Frank was named to the All-Conference First Team last year, leading UR to a 4-3 A-10 record and a 5-14 overall mark.
 
La Salle was fifth with 29 points and had their 2021 All-Conference selection Sofia Pla earn Preseason All-Conference. Affiliate member Lock Haven was sixth with 23 points, followed by Davidson (20) and Saint Louis (11).
 
The 2022 Atlantic 10 Field Hockey season is set to commence on Friday, August 26 with six of the eight teams playing season-opening matches. Conference play begins on Friday, Sept. 16 and the 2022 Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Championship will take place Nov. 3-5 in Amherst, Mass. at Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex on the UMass campus.
 
The league’s nine head coaches voted in both the Preseason poll and All-Conference Team, which is listed below.
 
2022 Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Preseason Poll
Number in parenthesis indicates first-place votes.
 
  1. Saint Joseph's
 59 (5)
  1. Massachusetts
 55 (1)
  1. VCU
 53 (2)
  1. Richmond
 38
  1. La Salle
 29
  1. Lock Haven
 23
  1. Davidson
 20
  1. Saint Louis
 11
 
 
2022 Field Hockey Preseason All-Conference Team
Sofia Pla, La Salle
Jess Beech, Massachusetts
Lindsey Frank, Richmond
Erika Latta, Richmond (GK)
Katy Benton, Saint Joseph's
Sol Borensztein, Saint Joseph's
Manu Ghigliotti, Saint Joseph's
Freke van Tilburg, Saint Joseph's
Litiana Field, VCU
Bridget McCormick, VCU
Janne Wetzel, VCU