COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Saint Joseph's field hockey team was ranked 20th in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Preseason Division I Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.
 
The Hawks will begin the season ranked in the preseason poll for the eighth consecutive full season; there was no preseason poll prior to the COVID-affected 2020-21 campaign.
 
Two-time defending champion Northwestern was a unanimous number one in the poll, followed by North Carolina and Princeton just five points apart in second and third, respectively.  Harvard and Virginia rounded out the top five.
 
The Hawks will meet seven teams ranked in the NFHCA preseason poll.  The first is #11 UConn, on Sunday at Ellen Ryan Field, before #8 Liberty visits Hawk Hill next Friday, September 4.  The Hawks then visit #13 Maryland and #19 Louisville on September 13 and 20, respectively, before a trip to #6 Duke on October 4.  The second-ranked Tar Heels return to Ellen Ryan Field on October 9 before Saint Joseph's heads to #3 Princeton on October 25.  Both the Tigers and Tar Heels reached the Final Four last season, with Princeton falling in the national championship game.
 
Saint Joseph's kicks off the 2026 campaign on Friday when the Hawks host New Hampshire.  Game time at Ellen Ryan Field is set for noon.