North Carolina Athletics

Field Hockey

2026 ACC Field Hockey Season Opens Friday

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – A nation-leading six teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference are ranked in the NFHCA Preseason Coaches Poll as the 2026 field hockey season begins Friday, August 28. Eight ACC teams will be in action Friday, beginning with a ranked matchup as No. 18 Louisville hosts No. 10 Miami (Ohio) at noon ET.
 
The weekend is highlighted by a set of ACC/Big Ten Challenge matches in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, featuring No. 2 North Carolina, No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 11 Iowa and No. 14 Michigan. Each team will play two contests, with North Carolina facing Michigan on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET and Iowa on Sunday, August 30, at 11 a.m. ET. Wake Forest will meet the Hawkeyes at 6 p.m. Friday before taking on the Wolverines at 2 p.m. ET Sunday.
 
A pair of ranked ACC squads will hit the road for early tests, with No. 9 Syracuse traveling to Fairfield on Friday at 3 p.m. ET. The Orange will then meet Northeastern in Boston on Sunday at noon ET, while No. 6 Duke will travel to Richmond for a noon ET showdown.
 
Upcoming Schedule (All Times ET)
Friday, August 28
#10 Miami (OH) at #18 Louisville, Noon, ACCNX
William & Mary at #6 Duke, Noon, ACCNX
#9 Syracuse at Fairfield, 3 p.m., YouTube
Providence at Boston College, 3 p.m., ACCNX
#2 North Carolina vs. #14 Michigan (in Winston-Salem, N.C.), 3:30 p.m., ACCNX
#5 Virginia at Penn State, 4 p.m., B1G+
#11 Iowa at #7 Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ACCNX
UMass-Lowell at Stanford, 7 p.m., ACCNX
American at California, 9 p.m., ACCNX
 
Sunday, August 30
#2 North Carolina vs. #11 Iowa (in Winston-Salem, N.C.), 11 a.m., ACCNX
#6 Duke at Richmond, Noon, ESPN+
#9 Syracuse at Northeastern, Noon, FloCollege
Boston College at UAlbany, Noon, AE.TV
#14 Michigan at #7 Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACCNX
American at Stanford, 2 p.m., ACCNX
Indiana at #18 Louisville, 2 p.m., ACCNX
Central Michigan at California, 4 p.m., ACCNX
 
Monday, August 31
Central Michigan at Stanford, 3 p.m.
 
Noting ACC Field Hockey
  • The ACC’s six teams in the NFHCA Preseason Coaches Poll are the most of any conference. Five ACC teams are ranked in the top 10: No. 2 North Carolina, No. 5 Virginia, No. 6 Duke, No. 7 Wake Forest and No. 9 Syracuse.
  • ACC teams open the 2026 season with five games against ranked nonconference opponents, highlighted by No. 18 Louisville hosting No. 10 Miami (OH).
  • 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.
  • North Carolina won its ninth consecutive ACC Field Hockey Championship and 28th ACC title overall in 2025. The Tar Heels also made their NCAA-record 29th appearance in the national semifinals last season.
  • 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.
  • Wake Forest’s Mia Schoenbeck, the 2025 ACC Offensive Player of the Year; Wake Forest’s Mia Montag, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year; and Virginia’s Nilou Lempers, the ACC Goalkeeper of the Year, headlined the league’s 13-member Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team.
  • Tara and Steve Danielson are set to begin their first season as California’s co-head coaches. The duo replaces longtime head coach Shellie Onstead, who retired after 31 seasons leading the Golden Bears.
  • The ACC boasts two of the four winningest active head coaches in Division I. Wake Forest’s Jen Averill ranks third with 467 career wins, while Duke’s Pam Bustin ranks fourth with 350.
  • North Carolina’s Charly Bruder has scored 60 career goals, the second-most among active Division I players. Bruder trails only Iowa’s Dionne van Aalsum, with the two set to face one another Sunday, Aug. 30, at 11 a.m. ET on ACCNX.