FOREST, Va. --- Reigning ODAC champion Washington and Lee University lost just one game in 2021, so it seems only fitting that a team returning much of the talent from that squad opens the new season as the favorite to hoist another trophy. The Generals find themselves in that enviable position entering the 2022 campaign as leaders of the ODAC Field Hockey Preseason Poll.

W&L received 61 total points powered by six first place votes in the annual survey of the league's nine head coaches. University of Lynchburg, owners of a league-record 21 ODAC titles, sit second with 56 tallies including one top nod. Shenandoah University is perched three points back with 53 markers and the remaining two first place considerations.

In the following sections, we take a quick look back at last season and get a feel for what to expect for the upcoming field hockey campaign.

2021 ODAC TOURNAMENT | BRACKET

• Washington and Lee (18-1) posted a 8-0 ODAC record en route to the bracket's top seed.
• University of Lynchburg (14-8) dropped two games in ODAC play for the first time since 2003 (5-4 that year), but the Hornets made the most of their third-seeded position to earn the program its record 31st entry to the conference championship game.
• W&L, as the top seed, earned a bye through the quarterfinals and then posted a 2-0 home win over #4 Roanoke to punch its ticket to and earn hosting honors of the conference title tilt.
• Lynchburg defeated #6 Bridgewater, 3-0, at home in the quarterfinals and then upset #2 Shenandoah on the road, 3-1, in the semifinals.
• In the championship contest, W&L dominated much of the action, out-shooting LYN 25-8 for the game
• First-half goals from Tess Muneses and Peyton Tysinger were met by second Muneses tally late in the third quarter for a 3-0 lead.
• Lynchburg's Skylar Dise scored 17-seconds from time to leave Washington and Lee with a 3-1 triumph.
• The Generals have won three ODAC titles overall and two in the past five seasons.

2021 NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT

• Nationally ninth-ranked W&L, owners of the ODAC's automatic entry to the national bracket, were joined by at-large selection Lynchburg in the field of 26 teams.
• Lynchburg opened with a home game against Salisbury University in the first round; the patrons at Shellenberger Field were treated to an excellent game, but the friendly confines saw the Hornets fall in overtime, 3-2.
• The Generals received a bye through the first round and traveled to Rowan University for second round and possible regional round action.
• W&L met the University of Scranton in round two; Tess Muneses and Freddie Tobeason provided the scoring in a 2-0 Generals' victory, the program's first win in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey postseason.
• Washington and Lee stayed in Glassboro, N.J., for a date with host and fourth-ranked Rowan; the Profs scored once in the first, third, and fourth quarters to post a 3-0 victory.

THE NATIONAL SCENE ENTERING 2022

• The National Field Hockey Coaches Association will be releasing its preseason Penn Monto/NFHCA Division III National Coaches Poll (top-20) on Tuesday, August 30.
• Barring any changes, the 2022 NCAA Tournament bracket will feature 26 schools; 16 will qualify by automatic bid from their conferences in "Pool A," with three spots reserved for "Pool B" as independents or those in conference's that do not qualify for an automatic berth; the remaining seven squads will be chosen at-large from by the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship Committee from "Pool C," which includes all remaining teams not entered by Pool A or B processes.

RETURNING STATISTICAL LEADERS
The athletes listed below represent the top-three returning statistical leaders for each category from the 2021-22 season.
Save Pct./GAA Minimums | 33% of team goalkeeper minutes played

• Points | 55 - Kelsey Jones (SU); 46 - Mairead McKibbin (SU); 37 - Tess Muneses (W&L)
• Goals | 23 - Kelsey Jones (SU); 15 - Mairead McKibbin (SU)/Freddie Tobeason (W&L)/Emily Tyler (BC)
• Assists | 16 - Mairead McKibbin (SU); 9 - Kelsey Jones (SU)/Tess Muneses (W&L)
• Defensive Saves | 15 - Brandy Troutman (EMU); 4 - Annika Egerland (R-MC); 3 - Cassidy Armstrong (EMU)/Haleigh Horne (FC)/Hope Keller (RC)/Mary Wisher (RC)
• GK Minutes Played | 1,308:42 - Kayla Brady (LYN); 793:40 - Ann Ghally (EMU); 633:20 - Madison Wingerter (RC)
• GK Saves | 147 - Ann Ghally (EMU); 103 - Kayla Brady (LYN); 50 - Anna Corsey (FC)
• Save Pct. | .833 - Madison Wingerter (RC); .774 - Kayla Brady (LYN); .758 - Ann Ghally (EMU)
• Goals Against Avg. | 0.85 - Madison Wingerter (RC); 1.38 - Kayla Brady (LYN); 3.55 - Ann Ghally (EMU)

RETURNING ALL-ODAC TALENT | 2021 ALL-ODAC FIELD HOCKEY AWARDS
The 2022 season features 21-of-39 All-ODAC honorees from the 2021 fall campaign. Tess Muneses, the reigning ODAC Offensive Player of the Year and ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete, returns for ODAC Coach of the Year, Gina Wills, at Washington and Lee. The Generals will have to do without goalkeeper Sara Amil, who was the 2021 ODAC Defensive Player of the Year. Shenandoah welcomes back forward Mairead McKibbin, who was voted the ODAC Rookie of the Year in 2021.

   FORWARDS

• Mairead McKibbin (SU) -- All-ODAC First Team (ROY)
• Cassidy Morrison (SU) -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Peyton Tysinger (W&L) -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Freddie Tobeason (W&L -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Emily Yanes (LYN) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Martha Hurley (RC) -- All-ODAC Third Team

   MIDFIELDERS

• Kessa Romero (LYN) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Kelsey Jones (SU) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Kailey Fitzgerald (W&L) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Tess Muneses (W&L) -- All-ODAC First Team (O-POY/S-AOY)
• Farren Winter (SU) -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Brittany Claybaugh (LYN) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Catherine Magill (R-MC) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Alaina McCoy (R-MC) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Anna Stribling (R-MC) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Elizabeth Ranberger (SU) -- All-ODAC Third Team

   DEFENSE

• Aaryn Boatwright (LYN) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Alexis Wright (RC) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Elise Velasquez (SU) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Ryleigh Cameron (LYN) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Hope Keller (RC) -- All-ODAC Third Team

   GOALKEEPERS

• No returning All-ODAC goalkeepers from 2021

ODAC HEAD COACHES
The ODAC features some of the best coaches in the business led by Lynchburg's Enza Steele. She ranks second in Division III history in coaching victories. Some new individuals join the ODAC's ranks in 2022. Chardonnay Hope is the new mentor at Ferrum College, while Ryley van der Velde takes the reins at Virginia Wesleyan University. Both are first-year collegiate head coaches entering the new season.

• Gina Stephan (BC) -- Overall: 6-12-0 (.333)/1 | at BC: 6-12-0 (.333)/1
• Ashley Kishorn (EMU) -- Overall: 30-50-0 (.375)/5 | at EMU: 30-50-0 (.375)/5
• Chardonnay Hope (FC) -- First Season
• Enza Steele (LYN) -- Overall: 628-240-11 (.721)/43 | at LYN: 628-240-11 (.721)/43
  • 13x ODAC Coach of the Year: 1982, 84, 88-89, 2000, 04, 06, 08-09, 11, 18-19, 21 (spring)
• Jessica Weiss (R-MC) -- Overall: 39-59-0 (.398)/6 | at R-MC: 39-59-0 (.398)/6
• Briana Banks (RC) -- Overall: 100-104-0 (.490)/12 | at RC: 100-104-0 (.490)/12
• Ashley Smeltzer-Kraft (SU) -- Overall: 109-58-0 (.653)/9 | at SU: 109-58-0 (.653)/9
  • 2x ODAC Coach of the Year: 2013, 16
• Ryley van der Velde (VWU) -- First Season
• Gina Wills (W&L) -- Overall: 204-80-0 (.718)/15 | at W&L: 83-40-0 (.675)/7
  • 3x ODAC Coach of the Year: 2015, 17, 21

THE SCHEDULE AND TOURNAMENT

• The nine-team ODAC contingent will play a full eight-game single round-robin schedule in addition to each school's non-league slate.
• The top six teams in the ODAC standings from conference play will qualify for the ODAC Field Hockey Tournament; the winner of the tournament will earn the conference's automatic entry to the NCAA postseason.
• The 2022 ODAC Field Hockey Tournament Schedule features:
  • Quarterfinals: Tuesday, November 1 at the #3-4 Seeds
  • Semifinals: Thursday, November 3 at the #1-2 Seeds
  • Championship: Saturday, November 5 at the highest remaining seed
  • All game times are TBD
• The NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament field will be finalized on Sunday, November 6, with announcement on NCAA.com either late that night or the following Monday.

Listed below is the 2022 ODAC Field Hockey Preseason Poll. For more information on ODAC field hockey, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.

2022 ODAC FIELD HOCKEY PRESEASON POLL