PROVIDENCE, R.I. - With regular-season play wrapping up last week, Syracuse, Connecticut and Louisville all stood strong in the Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I Field Hockey Coaches Poll. Following 1-0 weeks, No. 5 Syracuse and No. 7 Connecticut held their positions from last week's poll. Coming off a 2-0 finish and a four-game win streak, No. 13 Louisville jumped two spots from its stance last week. Providence landed right outside the top-20 while Villanova also received votes.

No. 5 Syracuse defeated Rutgers 6-1 on Oct. 31 to earn the BIG EAST regular season title outright and finish conference play with a perfect 6-0 mark and 16-2 overall. This is SU's second-consecutive regular season title and sixth overall. The Orange have stood at No. 5 in the poll for three straight weeks.

No. 7 Connecticut defeated Villanova 5-1 on Oct. 31 to cap its regular season, finishing with a 17-2 overall record and 5-1 in BIG EAST play. UConn has dropped only one BIG EAST game for three consecutive seasons and only 16 over 18 years of regular-season play. The Huskies have been ranked seventh for five straight weeks.

No. 13 Louisville earned its highest ranking of the regular season following a 2-0 week. The Cardinals closed out BIG EAST regular-season play with a 5-1 win at Georgetown on Oct. 31. UofL then followed with its first victory over a ranked opponent when it defeated then-No. 12 Stanford 4-1 on Nov. 1. Louisville finished regular-season action with a 12-7 mark and was 4-2 in the BIG EAST.

Providence ended the regular-season with a five game win streak with the final four games being shutouts. The Friars defeated Boston University 2-0 on Oct. 30 and Vermont 4-0 on Nov. 1 to close out the final week of regular-season action. PC was the first team just outside the top-20, earning 60 points. Old Dominion stands at No. 20 with 66 points.
 

 Institution   Points (first place votes in parentheses)

1.  Maryland (18-0)   1078 (52)
2.  North Carolina (16-1)  1040
3.  Virginia (16-2)   981
4.  Princeton (13-2)   898 (1)
5.  Syracuse (16-2)   844
6.  Wake Forest (11-5)   798
7.  Connecticut (17-2)  760
8.  Michigan State (15-3)  754
9.  Boston College (13-5) 607
10.  Drexel (17-2)    594
11.  James Madison (12-7)  463
12. Ohio State (13-5)  451
13.  Louisville (12-7)   398
14. Duke (9-9)   369
15.  Stanford (13-4)   361
16.  Delaware (12-5)   237
17.  Albany (12-4)   213
18. Indiana (12-5)  209
19.  Massachusetts (12-8)  69 (1)
20.  Old Dominion (9-11)   66

Also Receiving Votes: Providence (60), Northwestern (49), Boston University (41), Iowa (30), Richmond (21), Hofstra (20), Maine (20), Dartmouth (18), American (17), Missouri State (13), Rider (13), New Hampshire (12), Ohio (12), California (11), Michigan (7), Villanova (5), Northeastern (4), Yale (3), Kent State (2), Lock Haven (2).