NEW YORK – BIG EAST defending regular-season and tournament champion Connecticut was tabbed by the field hockey head coaches as the preseason favorite in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll released on Thursday by the league office.
The top preseason individual awards were split between Connecticut and Liberty, the top two teams in the poll. Liberty senior forward Jill Bolton selected as Preseason Offensive Player of the Year; Connecticut’s Cheyenne Sprecher was voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
UConn was the favorite among the league’s head coaches earning five first-place votes for 35 points. In 2019, the Huskies won its seventh straight BIG EAST regular-season championship title outright and the Huskies’ fifth consecutive undefeated conference season. Liberty was picked second in the league and received the remaining first-place tallies. Liberty’s vote count equaled 32 points.
Old Dominion, the 2019 BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship Runner-Up, was picked third with 24 points, just ahead of Providence with 21 points.
Temple followed with 16 points, picked to finish fifth. Rounding out the poll was Quinnipiac with 10 points and Villanova with nine.
Bolton has been named to the All-BIG EAST First Team for the past three seasons. As a junior in 2019, she was selected to the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-America third team as well as earning NFHCA All-South Region first team accolades. Bolton finished second on the Flames in scoring last season in goals (9), assists (5), points (23) and shots on goal (34) and led the Lady Flames in total shots. Over seven BIG EAST contests, Bolton tallied four goals and two assists for 10 points.
Sprecher is the reigning BIG EAST Co-Defensive Player of the Year. The All-BIG EAST First Team honoree ranked No. 1 in the country with an .842 save percentage and a .790 goals against average. The redshirt junior ranked third in the NCAA with 1404 minutes played and a .826 win percentage (19-4) for the Huskies. Sprecher posted 13 shutouts during the 2019 season as the Huskies won their eighth-straight BIG EAST Championship title.
In addition to the poll and preseason awards, the conference also released the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.
The 11-member squad includes three forwards, three midfielders, three defenders, a goalkeeper and an at-large selection. Five players were unanimous selections: Temple senior back Dani Batze, Providence senior midfielder Maddie Babineau, UConn sophomore midfielder Sophie Hamilton, Liberty’s Bolton and Liberty sophomore forward Daniella Rhodes.
The preseason all-conference team is listed below.
BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll
First-place votes are in ( )
| 1. Connecticut (5) |
35 points |
| 2. Liberty (2) |
32 |
| 3. Old Dominion |
24 |
| 4. Providence |
21 |
| 5. Temple |
16 |
| 6. Quinnipiac |
10 |
| 7. Villanova |
9 |
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Jill Bolton, Liberty, Sr., F
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Cheyenne Sprecher, Connecticut, Jr., GK
Preseason All-BIG EAST
Cheyenne Sprecher, Connecticut, Jr., GK
Kourtney Kennedy, Connecticut, Sr., B
Marlee McClendon, Old Dominion, R-Sr., B
Dani Batze, Temple, Sr., B ^
Maddie Babineau, Providence, Sr., M ^
Sophie Hamilton, Connecticut, So., M ^
Jess Dembrowski, Connecticut, Sr., M
Riley Taylor, Old Dominion, Jr., F/M
Jill Bolton, Liberty, Sr., F ^
Daniella Rhodes, Liberty, So., F ^
Charlotte Vaanhold, Liberty, Jr., F
^ denotes unanimous selection