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Field Hockey

This Week in ACC Field Hockey

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – With less than three weeks remaining until the start of the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship, the tightly-contested ACC race continues to intensify. Five of the ACC’s nine teams have two losses or fewer, ensuring that the race for the league’s regular-season championship and top-seed in the ACC Championship will be thrilling.
 
Two ACC games will be televised nationally this weekend via ACC Network. The slate begins Friday, October 16, when No. 19 Virginia travels to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for a 6 p.m. ET tilt with No. 6 Wake Forest. On Sunday, October 18, No. 10 North Carolina will play host to No. 13 Syracuse for a 2 p.m. ET clash on ACC Network.
 
Duke, the current ACC standings leader and ranked No. 8 nationally, heads to Louisville, Kentucky, for a top-20 clash. The Blue Devils enter with a 5-1 record in league play this season, while Louisville is 6-1 on its home turf.
 
In addition to high-level conference matches this weekend, several ACC squads will play non-conference foes. Both No. 15 California and Stanford will square off with in-state foe UC Davis throughout the weekend, while No. 19 Virginia will host No. 20 Monmouth on Sunday at noon ET.
 
Upcoming ACC Field Hockey Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Friday, October 16
Stanford at UC Davis, 4 p.m., YouTube
#19 Virginia at #6 Wake Forest *, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Boston College at #10 North Carolina *, 6 p.m., ACCNX
 
Saturday, October 17
#8 Duke at No. 16 Louisville *, 1 p.m., ACCNX
 
Sunday, October 18
Davidson at #6 Wake Forest, Noon
#20 Monmouth at #19 Virginia, Noon
#13 Syracuse at #10 North Carolina *, 2 p.m., ACC Network
#15 California at UC Davis, 4 p.m., YouTube
 
Noting ACC Field Hockey
  • The ACC’s seven teams ranked in the NFHCA Coaches Poll are the most of any conference. Three ACC teams rank in the top 10 nationally: No. 6 Wake Forest, No. 8 Duke and No. 10 North Carolina.
  • All nine ACC teams rank among the top 25 nationally in the latest NCAA RPI rankings.
  • The ACC also holds the No. 2 conference RPI and leads all conferences in three of the four ranking categories: Opponent Success, Opponent Strength of Schedule and Road Success.
  • The 2026 ACC Field Hockey Championship will return to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for the first time since 2020. Beginning November 3, the host Tar Heels will look to claim their 10th consecutive ACC title on their home field.
  • For the second consecutive season, North Carolina was picked to win the ACC in a vote of the league’s nine head coaches. The Tar Heels garnered four first-place votes and were followed by Virginia, Duke and Wake Forest, all of which received at least one first-place vote.
  • California freshman defender Flore Uges was named the NFHCA Division I National Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday, September 16, after helping the Golden Bears earn road wins over No. 8 Michigan and Michigan State. Uges scored the game-winning goal against Michigan as Cal improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2011.
  • North Carolina's Charly Bruder (4th, 1.00) and Wake Forest's Bianca Rees-Gibbs (7th, 0.92) each rank in the top 10 nationally in goals per game.
  • Since the return of 5th-year standouts Ryleigh Heck, Dani Mendez and Sietske Bruning, North Carolina has outscored opponents 24-3 and are averaging 4.00 goals per game.
  • Louisville's Emily Young ranks ninth nationally with a .791 save percentage. Young was named the NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week on September 2.
  • Wake Forest’s Mia Schoenbeck, the 2025 ACC Offensive Player of the Year; Wake Forest’s Mia Montag, the 2025 ACC Defensive Player of the Year; and Virginia’s Nilou Lempers, the 2025 ACC Goalkeeper of the Year, headlined the league’s 13-member Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team.
  • North Carolina won its ninth consecutive ACC Field Hockey Championship and its 28th ACC title overall in 2025. The Tar Heels also made their NCAA-record 29th appearance in the national semifinals last season.
  • The ACC’s five teams selected for the 2025 NCAA Tournament — Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia and Wake Forest — were the most of any conference. It marked the fourth consecutive year in which the ACC earned five NCAA Tournament berths.