Field Hockey

The most recent rankings that came out today place the Penn State field hockey team (2-2) at No. 6, which moves it two spots up from its previous No. 8 position.

After the first four games of the season -- which include the recent heartbreaking loss to No. 4 UConn -- the girls finally have something to celebrate.

They have not seen themselves ranked No. 6 since 2007.

Another reason to celebrate?

Any Nittany Lion fan and even player loves to see defeat against Ohio State and that is exactly what happened when the top 20 rankings were released and Ohio State did not find themselves on that list.

What might be the most shocking ranking is now-No. 2 Old Dominion -- whom the Nittany Lions lost to in their season opener 5-2. Old Dominion was ranked No. 12 just weeks ago. Old Dominion finds themselves undefeated after playing four games at this point in the season.

No. 1 North Carolina, who has only played three games so far this season, is also undefeated. In two of those games, their opponents could not even put a goal on the board.

Thankfully, the Nittany Lions will not face North Carolina during the regular season, but if they manage to make it to the playoffs I am sure this will be a team they will face.

Finding out the Lions moved up in the rankings was great news for the team, but with further analysis I found the recent rankings to be full of shocking news.

Two teams share the No. 16 spot, Albany and Stanford. The then-No. 3 Virginia team, now sits at No. 7 with the same record as Penn State. Shutting out Virginia, 3-0 was a huge accomplishment for the Lions even more so because they
were ranked No. 3 then.

The next game the recently No. 6 Lions will take on will be against No. 13 Princeton (1-1) who dropped six spots from No. 7.