LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The defending NCAA Division II champion Kutztown University field hockey team was selected as preseason favorite in the 2024 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Field Hockey Preseason Poll, as voted on by the conference’s coaches.
 
KU received eight first-place votes in the 2024 poll and finished last fall with a 19-3 overall record (7-2 in PSAC play) and a 2-1 victory over East Stroudsburg in the 2023 NCAA Division II National Championship to win the program’s first-ever national title. The Golden Bears’ defense was once again critical to their success, allowing only 11 goals all season (the lowest number in the conference.) Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Sarah Gatehouse returns to anchor the defensive effort, while Erin Gonzalez also is back after contributing eight goals and three assists in 2023. Other All-Conference honorees returning include First Team midfielder Juliana Donato (three goals, 11 assists) and Third Team honorees Grace Harrold and Danielle Panati.

The 2023 PSAC Champions and NCAA Division II runner-up East Stroudsburg Warriors were voted No. 2 in the preseason poll, receiving one first-place vote. ESU bested Shippensburg in overtime, 2-1, in the 2023 PSAC Championship Game and finished 2023 with an 18-3 overall record (8-1 PSAC) and featured the highest-scoring offense in the conference with 72 goals scored. The team’s 19 goals allowed was the third-lowest amount in the PSAC. Returning is the 2023 Field Hockey Athlete of the Year, Jady van Gils, who scored 10 goals and assisted on five others last fall.
 
The Shippensburg Raiders are the No. 3 team in the 2024 preseason poll, also collecting a single first-place vote. The team accrued a record of 15-5 (8-1 PSAC) last fall and scored 65 goals (the second-most in the conference). Plenty of firepower is back for Shippensburg, including Agus Garibaldi (13 goals, 12 assists) and Yasmin De Meyer (10 goals, two assists), who were First Team and Second Team All-PSAC selections, respectively. Also returning in Second Team honoree Hannah White, who should help shore up the defense.
 
West Chester, the No. 4 team in the poll, finished the 2023 season 10-7 overall (4-5 PSAC) and just barely missed out on a PSAC Tournament spot. Returners for the Golden Rams should include Jasmine Miller, whose 18 goals were second-highest in the conference, as well as All-PSAC Third Team selections Gianna Funari, Adriana Palumbo, and Ella Shockley.
 
The Bloomsburg Huskies (14-5 overall, 5-4 PSAC) were selected No. 5 in the poll. 2023 PSAC Field Hockey Coach of the Year Nikki Hartranft returns lots of talent to the field this fall, with All-PSAC First Team midfielder Bella Culp (four goals, 11 assists), Second Team selections Aydan McFarland (nine goals, three assists) and Genna Bush (who was voted Freshman of the Year after scoring nine goals), and Third Team members Meg Barnard and goalie Jackie Nevel.

The remainder of the 2024 poll is rounded out by No. 6 Millersville, No. 7 Mansfield, No. 8 IUP, No. 9 Frostburg State (who joins the PSAC as an Associate Member for Field Hockey this fall), and No. 10 Slippery Rock.
 
The 2024 field hockey season kicks off in full on Thursday, September 5.
 

2024 PSAC Field Hockey Preseason Poll (# of first-place votes in parentheses)
 
1. Kutztown (8)
2. East Stroudsburg (1)
3. Shippensburg (1)
4. West Chester
5. Bloomsburg
6. Millersville
7. Mansfield
8. IUP
9. Frostburg State
10. Slippery Rock