CLEVELAND – Appalachian State University field hockey received a tournament champion vote in the 2019 Mid-American Conference Field Hockey Preseason Coaches Poll that was released on Monday.
Appalachian joins Miami, 2018's regular season and tournament champion, and Kent State as the three schools to earn a tournament champion vote.
MAC coaches also selected the Mountaineers to finish fifth in the conference. App State finished sixth in the regular season in 2018 before making it to the semifinals in this past season's MAC Tournament.
Appalachian won its first two MAC Tournament games a year ago, defeating Central Michigan 5-2 and Longwood 2-0 in 2018's postseason run. The Black and Gold play both the Chippewas and Lancers on the road in October.
Miami, the MAC's back-to-back tournament champion, received the most regular season and tournament champion votes. The RedHawks earned five first place votes and five tournament champion votes. Kent State and Longwood finished second and third in total votes, respectively.
The Mountaineers open the 2019 season Friday with a road matchup at Towson at 3 p.m. Appalachian begins its conference slate at home against Ohio on Sept. 20.
