NFHCA Top 10

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Slippery Rock University field hockey team moved up one spot to No. 8 in this week's NCAA Division II rankings when the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) released its updated national poll Tuesday.
 
Since beginning the season unranked and picked to finish last in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, The Rock have steadily gained national recognition by winning their first seven games of the season.
 
After being ranked ninth in the nation the last two weeks, SRU's No. 8 spot in this week's rankings is tied for the second highest position in the national poll in program history: the 2017 team spent one week ranked fifth in the nation and the 2012 team was ranked eighth in Division II for the final four weeks of the season.
 
Kutztown and Shippensburg remained first and second, respectively, in this week's poll. Behind the Golden Bears and Raiders in the top five saw Newberry climb to No. 3 in the nation, with East Stroudsburg and West Chester each dropping down a slot to fourth and fifth.
 
Bloomsburg and IUP stayed locked in sixth and seventh to start the back half of national poll followed by The Rock and Saint Anselm trading the No. 8 and No. 9 positions from a week ago. Assumption rounded out the poll at No. 10, taking the place of Millersville which was bumped out of the national rankings.
 
Slippery Rock continued its undefeated season last week with three road victories over Roberts Wesleyan (6-1) and Maryville (5-1, 3-0). 2026 already marks the first time that any SRU team has won seven consecutive games
 
With 10 games remaining in the regular season, The Rock's seven wins in 2026 already ties this year's team for the 10th winningest season in the program's 54-year history as well as being tied for the most victories in a single season at SRU since a 10-win year in 2017.
 
One of only three undefeated teams remaining in Division II, Slippery Rock's impressive start to 2026 has led to SRU statistically ranking second in the nation in goals per game (4.14), second in points per game (11.14), third in scoring margin (+3.29), fourth in penalty corners per game (10.57), sixth in goals against average (0.86) and seventh in save percentage (.813).
 
Individually, Lucy Hutchinson leads the nation in points per game (3.43) in addition to ranking second in goals per game (1.43). Goalkeeper Sam Black is fifth in GAAA (0.70) and 10th in save percentage (.778).
 
With the bulk of its non-conference schedule now complete, Slippery Rock is set to embark on its PSAC slate noon Saturday at Millersville University.
 
A look at the updated NFHCA national poll can be found below.
 

NFHCA DII NATIONAL RANKINGS
Rank	Team	W-L	Points
1	Kutztown	9-0	80 (8)
2	Shippensburg	4-1	72
3	Newberry	7-1	59
4	East Stroudsburg	6-1	55
5	West Chester	6-1	53
6	Bloomsburg	7-0	40
7	IUP	6-1	27
8	THE ROCK	7-0	23
9	Saint Anselm	4-2	21
10	Assumption	3-3	4

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