CLEVELAND, Ohio – The 2026 Mid-American Conference field hockey season gets underway today, with seven teams in competition on opening day. Conference play amongst all ten MAC schools begins on Friday, September 18.
The regular season will conclude on Sunday, November 1, with the top six teams in the conference moving on to the 2026 MAC Field Hockey Tournament. This year’s championship will be held in Oxford, Ohio, hosted by Miami University.
Below is a team-by-team preview for the 2026 MAC Field Hockey season.
App State Mountaineers
The App State field hockey team is set to begin its 2026 campaign in the High Country, hosting the Towson Tigers on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a matchup against the Georgetown Hoyas on Sunday at noon.
The Mountaineers retain key returners from the 2025 season, led by four-time 2025 Defensive Player of the Week Sophia Baxter, along with fellow team captains Kassie Paul and Calista Schwartz, a Vancouver, Canada, native and member of the FIH Junior World Cup roster. Baxter and Schwartz were both named to the NFHCA Division I Watchlist on Thursday.
Ball State Cardinals
The Ball State field hockey team officially opens its 2026 regular season this weekend with a two-game road trip to Lewisburg, Pa. The weekend action begins Friday, August 28 at 4 pm ET against host Bucknell. Ball State will return to the pitch the following afternoon on Saturday at 1 pm ET, for a neutral-site clash versus Sacred Heart.
The Cardinals enter the 2026 campaign looking to build momentum early on the road. Ball State’s lineup features a strong core of returning veterans, including All-Mid-American Conference Freshman Team honoree Jade Vandevoorde who started and played in every game last season. Vandevoorde was second on the team in goals with three while also registering 22 shots and 15 shots on goal for the Cardinals.
Bellarmine Knights
Bellarmine opens the regular season with a pair of games in Columbus, Ohio. The Knights will meet Old Dominion in a neutral-site contest Aug. 29 before facing host Ohio State on Aug. 30.
Entering their second season under head coach Toby Platt, the Knights will face teams from seven different conferences and travel to California, North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan and Ohio during the campaign. Bellarmine will play six home games at Trager Stadium, including five against MAC opponents.
Central Michigan Chippewas
First-year Chippewa Head Coach Kelly Terwilliger will lead her team out west to the Golden State for three games to kick off the 2026 season. The Chippewas return four of their five top scorers for the 2026 season in junior Carolena Ryon, sophomore Mora Rulli and seniors Cameron Pluciennik and Hailey Bainer.
Ryon recorded the second most goals of any Chippewa in 2025 with 10, and logged one assist on the season, tallying 21 points in total. Ryon additionally scored four of the Chippewas’ 10 game winning goals.
James Madison Dukes
James Madison field hockey was selected to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference in a vote by the league’s coaches, as announced by the conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Last season, the Dukes finished 12-8, 6-3 MAC and got to the MAC Tournament Semifinals for the second consecutive year. In 2026, JMU enters year one of the Alyssa Parker Rosenblum era while returning six starters from a year ago, including All-MAC Second Team selection Ava Drexler-Amey and All-MAC Freshman Team recipient Puck Jansen.
Kent State Golden Flashes
The Golden Flashes’ Field Hockey team will travel west to Evanston, Ill. this weekend to take on Lafayette and VCU in a neutral-site showdown. Northwestern University will be hosting both games at Lakeside Field.
KSU brings five freshman and four incoming transfers into the program this season, including three from Coach Hefner’s former coaching stint, Liberty University. One of these newcomers, fifth-year goalkeeper Michaela Skinner, will look to bring the defensive presence needed to start the year off strong.
Longwood Lancers
Longwood field hockey kicks off the 2026 season at home on Sunday, Aug. 30, when it welcomes Queens University of Charlotte to Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field. Head coach Miranda Rigg brought in seven freshmen this fall to go along with sophomore Caitlin Meeker transferring in from LIU.
Senior Channy Johnson returns to the offensive end for the Lancers. Last season, Johnson led Longwood with 17 points on eight goals and an assist, earning All-MAC second team honors. Junior Sophie Mooldijk was the go-to netminder for Longwood last season. Mooldijk finished the year with 176 saves, 3.78 GAA, and a 73.3 save %.
Massachusetts Minutewomen
One season after winning the MAC Regular Season Championship, the Minutewomen open their season on Saturday in a neutral-site game against No. 8 Liberty.
UMass returns its top two point-getters from last season and nine of its top 12, with Emily Barrett tallying 18 points (eight goals, two assists) and Fiene Jenniskens recording 17 (one goal, 15 assists). Much of the team’s back line returns as well. The Minutewomen stand 33-10 over the last two seasons, which included a national semifinal appearance in 2024.
Miami RedHawks
Miami, who is coming off an appearance in the Elite-8 this past season, will square off with six Power-4 teams and host the Mid-American Conference Tournament in early November.
The RedHawks return reigning Offensive Player of the Year, Malena Sabez, and reigning Freshman of the Year, Justin Intzes. Both RedHawks were All-MAC First Team selections in 2025. Miami will chase its ninth straight tournament title, and at least a share of the regular season championship for the ninth consecutive season.
Ohio Bobcats
The Bobcats will be starting their season at home, welcoming both Michigan State and Saint Louis to Athens to start the season. Ohio will be coming into this season with a largely similar roster, as they graduated just four seniors from last season’s team.
Ohio returns last season’s top goal-scorer in sophomore forward Tiana Nhamoinesu and sophomore midfielder Katie Cole. Other returners include sophomore back Ava Florence and senior forward Natalie LaFleur. The Bobcats will have experience in the net as well, as graduate goalkeeper Gwen Hershberger is back after allowing just 2.85 goals per game last season.
