SALEM, Va. – With the fall season fast approaching, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) has released the preseason field hockey coaches' poll with Roanoke picked to finish fourth among the nine conference teams.
Defending ODAC Champion Washington and Lee was picked to finish first with 61 points and six first-place votes. Lynchburg was picked second with 56 points and one first-place vote. Shenandoah is picked third with 53 points and the final two first-place votes
The Maroons received 42 points with Randolph-Macon rounding out the top five with 38 points.
Bridgewater (6th - 28 points), Eastern Mennonite (7th – 19 points), Virginia Wesleyan (8th – 18 points), and Ferrum (9th – 9 points) complete the poll.
The Maroons open the season with four away contests in seven days beginning with Mary Washington on Thursday, September 1. RC plays at Denison (Sept. 3), Wittenberg (Sept. 4), and Wilson (Sept. 7) before returning home to host Hood on Saturday, September 17. After a single away contest at Meredith (Sept. 21), the Maroons take on Sewanee on Family Weekend (Sept. 24) before taking on Sweet Briar (Sept. 27)
RC opens ODAC play with a pair of home games against EMU on October 1 and a mid-week contest against Ferrum (Oct. 5). The Maroons then hit the road for a game at VWU on October 8 before staying in the Tidewater area for their final non-conference contest of the season at Christopher Newport on October 9.
The final two home games of the season come against R-MC on Oct. 15 and WLU on Oct. 19. RC finishes the regular season with a pair of games on the road at SU (Oct. 22) and Lynchburg (Oct. 26).
The ODAC Tournament gets underway on with a quarterfinal round on November 1 with the semifinals on Nov. 3 and championship on Nov. 5
