19th-Ranked UAlbany Field Hockey Hits the Road to Start the 2012 Season

19th-Ranked UAlbany Field Hockey Hits the Road to Start the 2012 Season

Courtesy: UAlbany Athletics Albany, N.Y. - The 19th-ranked UAlbany field hockey team will hit the road for the first two games of the 2012 season, visiting Rutgers and Delaware on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Great Danes, who were ranked for the entire 2011 season, continue to impress nationally, as they garnered a top-20 ranking on the Penn Monto/NFHCA Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced on Tuesday. UAlbany will face seven opponents, including three America East Conference foes, that were ranked in the preseason poll. "We are looking forward to our season," said UAlbany head coach Phil Sykes, now in his ninth season at the helm of the Great Dane program. "We have a good group of players who are already very close. We want to improve a little bit every day and see how far it takes us." The Great Danes will kick off 2012 at Rutgers, under first-year head coach Meredith Long. The Scarlet Knights went 5-13 a year ago, but return two players who competed for the USA Women's National Indoor Team. UAlbany will then visit Delaware, which posted a record of 9-11 and advanced to the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament a year ago. Head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof’s enters his second season to guide the Blue Hens, who were picked fifth in the CAA Preseason Coaches Poll announced last week. Follow the Great Danes this weekend: