College Games to Watch: September 5 to 10

Week one is in the books, and week two of college field hockey is here! Check out this week's games to watch. (Find Division II Opening Weekend Games to Watch here)

A pair of unbeaten, top-10 sides meet in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge as the fourth-ranked Terrapins and No. 8 Eagles battle on Friday afternoon in Durham, N.C. 

Maryland enjoyed a comfortable weekend at home to start the year, beating Stanford and Villanova by an aggregate 7-1 scoreline. Maci Bradford paced the offense with three assists while a trio of players, including the Hollamon sisters in Jordyn and Josie, tallied twice. Boston College was in Orono, Maine, and took down the host Black Bears, 2-0, before a 60th minute goal from Madeline Leigh lifted the Eagles past another Big Ten foe in Indiana, 2-1.

The Terrapins enjoy a comfortable 16-4 edge in the all-time series and have won the last three games, including a 2-0 decision last year in Evanston. Each of the last 10 meetings have been decided by two or fewer goals, however, setting the stage for what should be a tight game.

The ACC/Big Ten Challenge will also be taking place in Columbus, Ohio, as the Buckeyes eye an upset win on their home turf against the No. 3 Cavaliers. Ohio State will attempt to lean on its high-powered offensive attack to do so, having piled up 16 goals in a pair of wins over Ball State and Kent State.

Makenna Webster played an outsized role in those wins, nabbing Big Ten Offensive Player and NFCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors after scoring 10 goals and 21 total points. Virginia will lean on ACC Defensive Player of the Week Lauren Sloan to quiet the Buckeyes attack and bring in a 1-0 record of its own, having toppled Big Ten side Penn State by a hefty 5-1 margin last Friday.

For two strong programs, meetings have been few and far between. They’ve played just six times this quarter-century with Virginia holding a 5-1 edge, including a 2-1 win back in 2021.

It was Middlebury who ended Hamilton’s 2024 season, taking them down 5-2 in the NESCAC championship quarterfinal. Earlier that fall, the Panthers had taken a more narrow 3-1 victory. Middlebury kicked off their 2025 campaign with a whopping 5-0 win over Vermont State Castleton, with Shawna Ferraro netting three goals.

Hamilton’s offense looks off to a strong start, as the Continentals took down RPI in their season opener by a score of 5-1 after winning that same match-up 1-0 last year.

For much of the decade, Trinity held a lofty advantage over its NESCAC foe in Bates, winning five of six entering 2023. The last few years have seen the Bobcats steadily climb the national ranks, however, and they’ve beaten the Bantams in consecutive years for the first time in school history. Bates brings in a top-10 national ranking to this conference opener after setting a program record in wins in 2024.

The Bobcats prevented Southern Maine from registering a single shot in a 4-0 win to open its season and got goals from four different players. Trinity, meanwhile, fended off a late rally from Smith in its opener, winning 4-3 with two goals apiece for Brook DiBiase and Aly Janssen. The quality of play in the NESCAC never disappoints and the first game in league play provides a worthy measuring stick for both teams.

Reigning Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) champion Shenandoah will host Washington College this Saturday in Winchester, Va.

Shenandoah starts off their season with a 2-0 record, chasing the success of last year’s 19-3 finish in the NCAA Tournament Second Round. Five Hornets have already tallied goals on the young season.

The Washington College Shorewomen are rearing to take on another ranked opponent after going to overtime with No. 3 Salisbury this past week. The Shorewomen fell, 1-0, after Salisbury found the golden goal four minutes in. Charlotte Schurman made seven saves in goal.

As per usual, the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action gets going early. Included is a top-five contest between No. 2 Tufts and No. 4 Williams.

Both teams kicked off their season this week with 3-0 wins at home. Tufts was victorious against Wellesley, while Williams shutout Union. 

Last season, these two teams were clashing, to say the least. In their early season conference match-up, Williams took a 1-0 victory, but it was Tufts who came out on top later in the season when they won 3-2 in shootouts in the NESCAC Tournament and 1-0 in overtime in the NCAA Semifinal.

Unranked Franklin & Marshall and Montclair State both made statements last week with wins over ranked opponents. In their season opener, Montclair State had a gritty 1-0 shutout over No. 12 SUNY Cortland. Natalie Surma notched the winning goal. 

Franklin & Marshall had their own hotly contested match, taking on No. 9 Messiah and coming out with a 3-2 victory. Hannah Fitzgerald notched two goals, both assisted by Isabelle Allen, while the gamewinner came off a penalty stroke from Bella Konchar.

When these two teams played last season, Montclair State won 2-1.

No. 14 Rowan and No. 5 Johns Hopkins will have an early season meeting for the fifth consecutive year. Johns Hopkins has won the previous two match-ups, with a 3-0 victory over the Profs last fall.

Two ranked wins marked the start of Rowan’s 2025 campaign, as the Profs shutout No. 18 Ursinus, 2-0, then No. 21 Swarthmore, 3-1. Freshman Sydney Kowalczyk scored a goal in each match.

The Blue Jays split their opening weekend matches, taking down Washington & Lee 4-2 but falling to No. 6 Christopher Newport, 5-3.

The top-ranked Wildcats will take on two ranked opponents this weekend, starting with No. 5 Duke on Friday and followed by No. 8 Boston College on Sunday.

It was a good opening match last weekend for the Northwestern newcomers, as freshman Juliana Boon made her debut in goal by tallying a three-save shutout and graduate transfer Grace Schulze notched two goals against Richmond. The Wildcats then went on the defeat VCU, 3-0.

In their 16 all-time meetings, the pair is tied at eight wins apiece. Northwestern has won the last five match-ups.

A 800-mile journey for No. 17 Lynchburg sets up a ranked matchup with No. 8 Bates as the Hornets are off to a 2-0 start under second-year head coach Jenni Releford. Replacing a legend like Enza Steele is no small task, but Releford guided Lynchburg to an at-large bid and first round win in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Lynchburg posted a pair of clean sheets to start the year against Denison and DePauw behind junior goalkeeper Shay Schoones. The ODAC favorites have never played Bates but both are no stranger to postseason success as of late and it figures to be a tight, defensive battle.

It doesn’t get much bigger than this Sunday afternoon matchup between the class of the NEWMAC and a perennial NESCAC heavyweight. Fourth-ranked Williams, fresh off a run to the national semifinals, heads to MacDowell Field to face No. 7 Babson.

It’s the second game of a challenging weekend for the visitors, who play No. 2 Tufts the day before. The Beavers were practically unbeatable at home in 2024, winning 11 of 12 games with the only loss coming to eventual national champions Middlebury. They’ve started 2-0 with wins over Endicott and No. 22 Swarthmore and will look to avenge a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Ephs last year.

The number-two ranked Tar Heels will travel to Princeton, N.J. to play No. 10 Princeton in the Conference Crossover this weekend. It's always a hotly contested match-up between these two. Last year, North Carolina blanked the Tigers, 2-0, but 2023 and 2022 were narrow one-goal wins for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina got their season going looking strong once again, defeating No. 7 Michigan and No. 15 Iowa by comfortable margins in the ACC/B1G Challenge. Sisters Ryleigh and Kara Heck scored in both wins. and The Ivy League gets started this weekend, as Princeton opens with a match against Old Dominion on Friday.