LANCASTER, Pa. – Haverford College's field hockey team garnered 80 points in the Centennial Conference's 2013 preseason coaches poll, just one point shy of earning the No. 2 spot in the poll. The No. 3 Fords earned one first-place vote in the poll released by the league office Monday morning.

Returning champion Franklin & Marshall College, which defeated the Fords in last fall's conference tournament final, claimed the top spot in the preseason poll with seven first-place votes and 94 points. Ursinus College is second with 81 points and a first-place marker while Gettysburg College picked up the other first-place tally and accumulated a fourth-place best 74 points. Johns Hopkins University rounded out the top five with 68 points.

Haverford finished second in the league standings in 2012 with an 8-2 conference mark. The Fords downed Gettysburg, 4-3, in the Centennial tournament's semifinal round before succumbing to the host Diplomats, 4-1, in the championship game.

Their visit into the Centennial postseason last fall was the fourth in a row for the Fords who have played in the championship game twice (2012, 2010) and in the semifinal round the other two seasons (2011, 2009) in that string.

Centennial Conference 2013 preseason coaches poll | 2013 preseason guide