Field Hockey | 8/30/2017 10:18:00 AM

Montclair, NJ - The Montclair State field hockey team was ranked 12 in the Penn Monto / National Field Hockey Coaches Association Preseason Poll announced on Tuesday. 

Montclair, a fixture in the poll for the last several seasons, opens the year two spots down from its 2016 finish at No. 10. MSU is coming off an outstanding campaign last season as it finished 16-6 overall and included trips to the NJAC Championship Game and NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship for the first time in three years. Montclair was recently chosen No. 2 in the NJAC Preseason Coaches Poll, right behind defending champion TCNJ which is ranked No. 6 in the NFHCA Poll. 

The Lions are one of four ranked teams on the Red Hawks' 2017 slate. Babson College, Montclair's opponent in the season finale on October 28, is the highest-ranked squad at No. 5. MSU will face No. 11 Skidmore College in its home opener on September 16 and also hosts No. 16 Muhlenberg College on September 27. 

Montclair State opens the season on Friday, September 1 at Eastern University beginning at 3:00 pm. It will be the first of five road games to open the year for the Red Hawks.