Wake Forest Athletics

Field Hockey

This Week in ACC Field Hockey

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – With less than two weeks remaining until the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship, the race for the top-seed remains open.
 
Duke remains atop the ACC standings with a 6-1 record in league play, however both North Carolina (5-1) and Wake Forest (4-2) remain in contention for the ACC’s regular-season championship. In a crucial conference game with regular-season title implications, No. 10 Wake Forest will travel to No. 9 North Carolina on Friday, October 23, for a 6 p.m. ET clash. While the No. 8 Blue Devils do not have a conference game this weekend, they’ll travel to Lynchburg, Virginia, for a road test against No. 12 Liberty on Sunday, October 25, at 1 p.m. ET.
 
In other top-20 tilts around the league, No. 15 Virginia will host No. 18 Louisville on Friday at 3 p.m. ET., while No. 16 California travels No. 14 Syracuse on Sunday at noon ET. Both matches will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
 
In all, six ACC matches will be played this weekend, including a full four-game slate on Friday. ACC teams will also take on four non-conference opponents this weekend, including three road contests.
 
The 2026 ACC Field Hockey Championship will begin on Tuesday, November 3, at Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The championship will begin with the quarterfinals on Tuesday, followed by the semifinals on Wednesday, November 4, and the ACC Championship match on Friday, November 6, at 3 p.m. ET. Every match from the ACC Championship will be broadcast on ACC Network. Admission to every match of the ACC Field Hockey Championships is free.
 
Upcoming ACC Field Hockey Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Friday, October 23
#18 Louisville at #15 Virginia*, 3 p.m., ACCNX
#16 California at Boston College*, 4 p.m., ACCNX
Stanford at #14 Syracuse, 5 p.m., ACCNX
#10 Wake Forest at #9 North Carolina, 6 p.m., ACCNX
 
Sunday, October 25
#16 California at #14 Syracuse, Noon, ACCNX
Stanford at Boston College*, Noon. ACCNX
James Madison at #10 Wake Forest, Noon, ACCNX
#7 Duke at #12 Liberty, 1 p.m., ESPN+
#18 Louisville at Richmond, 1 p.m.,
#9 North Carolina at App State, 1 p.m.
 
Noting ACC Field Hockey
  • The ACC holds the No. 1 conference RPI and leads all conferences in each of the four ranking categories: Opponent Success, Opponent Strength of Schedule, Road RPI and Road Success.
  • 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. 7 Duke, No. 9 North Carolina and No. 10 Wake Forest.
  • At least six ACC teams - two-thirds of the league - have been ranked in every NFHCA Coaches Poll this season.
  • All nine ACC teams rank among the top 25 nationally in the latest NCAA RPI rankings.
  • 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.
  • Three ACC standouts have earned NFHCA Division I National Defensive Player of the Week honors this season - California's Flore Uges, Duke's Kaiya Chepow and Louisville's Emily Young.
  • North Carolina's Charly Bruder (6th, 1.00) and Cal's Liz Klompmaker (10th, 0.92) each rank in the top 10 nationally in goals per game.
  • Klompmaker also ranks ninth nationally, averaging 2.15 points per game. Four ACC standouts have logged 10 or more goals on the season: Bruder (14), Klompmaker (12) and Wake Forest's duo of Bianca-Rees Gibbs (12) and Ava Moore (10).
  • Since the return of 5th-year standouts Ryleigh Heck, Dani Mendez and Sietske Bruning, North Carolina has outscored opponents 26-4 and are averaging 3.71 goals per game.
  • 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, led the 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.