Louisville Athletics

Field Hockey

This Week in ACC Field Hockey

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – For the first time this season, the Atlantic Coast Conference field hockey slate will be filled with conference matchups. Of the eight matches involving ACC teams this weekend, seven will have conference implications.
 
 After a soft opening to conference play last weekend, Duke and Louisville sit atop of the ACC standings at 1-0 in league play. The Blue Devils, ranked fifth nationally, will face No. 3 Wake Forest on Friday, September 25, at 5 p.m. ET (ACCNX) and Boston College on Sunday, September 27, at 1 p.m. ET (ACCNX). Louisville, ranked 12th in the nation, will take on No. 17 California on Friday at 5 p.m. ET (ACCNX) before a non-conference tilt against UC Davis on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET (YouTube).
 
North Carolina will head to the West Coast, kicking off a five-game road swing with a Friday night showdown at Stanford (9 p.m. ET, ACCNX). The Tar Heels will then head to Berkeley, California, on Sunday afternoon for a meeting with the 17th-ranked Golden Bears (4 p.m. ET, ACCNX)
 
Syracuse puts its No. 11 ranking on the line with a tough two-game road trip to open conference play. The Orange will battle No. 9 Virginia on Friday at 4 p.m. ET (ACCNX) before battling No. 3 Wake Forest on Sunday (Noon ET, ACCNX).
 
Upcoming ACC Field Hockey Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Friday, September 25
#11 Syracuse at #9 Virginia, 4 p.m., ACCNX
#5 Duke at #3 Wake Forest, 5 p.m., ACCNX
#12 Louisville at #17 California, 5 p.m., ACCNX
North Carolina at Stanford, 9 p.m., ACCNX
 
Sunday, September 30
#11 Syracuse at #3 Wake Forest, Noon, ACCNX
Boston College at #5 Duke, 1 p.m., ACCNX
Louisville at UC Davis, 1:30 p.m., YouTube
North Carolina at #17 California, 4 p.m., ACCNX
 
Noting ACC Field Hockey
  • The ACC’s six teams ranked in the NFHCA Coaches Poll are the most of any conference. Three ACC teams rank in the top 10 nationally: No. 3 Wake Forest, No. 5 Duke and No. 9 Virginia.
  • All nine ACC teams rank among the top 25 nationally in the initial NCAA RPI rankings. California leads the conference at No. 3, while No. 6 Wake Forest, No. 9 Duke and No. 10 Syracuse also rank in the top 10.
  • The ACC also holds the No. 1 conference RPI and leads all conferences in each ranking category: Opponent Success, Opponent Strength of Schedule, Road Success and Road RPI.
  • 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.
  • Led by two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Week Emily Young, Louisville ranks fourth nationally with a .824 save percentage.
  • Wake Forest has been one of the nation’s most productive offensive teams, ranking sixth in scoring at 3.93 goals per game and fifth in scoring margin at 2.94 goals per game.
  • The Demon Deacons have also excelled defensively, as goalkeeper Ruby Butterfield ranks second nationally with a 0.48 goals-against average.
  • Butterfield, Young and Stanford’s Anya Jackson each rank among the top 10 nationally in save percentage, stopping at least 81.6 percent of the shots they have faced.
  • 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.