UNC Field Hockey 2026-2027

[3397char]

UNC finally updated their 2026 roster, probably due to the Wisne court case in CO putting our grad assistants back in limbo?

2026 Field Hockey Roster - University of North Carolina Athletics

The official 2026 Field Hockey Roster for the North Carolina Heels

goheels.com

I have removed recruits Floor Holzenbach, Emersyn O'Leary and Soph Olivia Anderson from our player list in the first post, based solely on them not being on the official roster.

Also note that Molly Nussbaumer was upgraded to a Top 10 recruit on the final 2026 Max FH Top 100 list. That gave UNC 3 top 10 players, edging Maryland and Princeton each with 2 in the top 10. Princeton still gets the nod with the top class with 5 women total in the top 50.

 

[Jriv23]

Welcome to the family Lily and Kendall. Hopefully we can get Camilla. Go Heels!

 

[pjb33]

Please elaborate, if you would.
I found out about her information from this forum.

Alison started The Field Hockey Analyst as her own blog. She is not a UNC alum and she ambitiously provides a mix of high school, club, college and Team USA coverage of the sport with her key interest being to write data-based topics, as well as featuring profiles of some of the top players at various levels. I believe she is a one-woman show, but am not certain; she does run a separate vlog based on 30-minute interviews with a mix of top players and has included several with UNC ties, while striving to spread the coverage to all corners of her fan base.I know she puts in many hours every week to create fan content and her only income from all of that is a Substack subscription service with extra content, which I currently subscribe to and have enjoyed. Her work is paying other dividends, however, as the Senior women’s team invited her to join their operation during the recent U-21 junior world cup competition. I saw someone shared her congratulatory post for Kendall’s commitment today - looked good!

 

[oldwell]

UNC finally updated their 2026 roster, probably due to the Wisne court case in CO putting our grad assistants back in limbo?

2026 Field Hockey Roster - University of North Carolina Athletics

The official 2026 Field Hockey Roster for the North Carolina Heels

goheels.com

I have removed recruits Floor Holzenbach, Emersyn O'Leary and Soph Olivia Anderson from our player list in the first post, based solely on them not being on the official roster.

Also note that Molly Nussbaumer was upgraded to a Top 10 recruit on the final 2026 Max FH Top 100 list. That gave UNC 3 top 10 players, edging Maryland and Princeton each with 2 in the top 10. Princeton still gets the nod with the top class with 5 women total in the top 50.

I assume this ranking doesn’t include international players, correct?

And it’s pretty safe assumption that 2 out of 3 international recruits would be ranked very highly?

 

[3397char]

I assume this ranking doesn’t include international players, correct?

And it’s pretty safe assumption that 2 of our 3 international recruits would be ranked very highly?

Correct. MaxFH class rankings do not include international players. I agree that 2-3 of our international players seriously bolster this class. The problem then becomes trying to assess our internationals versus other team's internationals. No way to do that easily. There is just too little info out there.

But it is certainly fair to say our class of 7 recruits includes 5-6 players who project to be high quality ACC starters at some point in their careers. Plus an elite transfer GK who will immediately contend with Skubisz for starting role.

 

[Deja_Blu]

Alison started The Field Hockey Analyst as her own blog. She is not a UNC alum and she ambitiously provides a mix of high school, club, college and Team USA coverage of the sport with her key interest being to write data-based topics, as well as featuring profiles of some of the top players at various levels. I believe she is a one-woman show, but am not certain; she does run a separate vlog based on 30-minute interviews with a mix of top players and has included several with UNC ties, while striving to spread the coverage to all corners of her fan base.I know she puts in many hours every week to create fan content and her only income from all of that is a Substack subscription service with extra content, which I currently subscribe to and have enjoyed. Her work is paying other dividends, however, as the Senior women’s team invited her to join their operation during the recent U-21 junior world cup competition. I saw someone shared her congratulatory post for Kendall’s commitment today - looked good!

Thank-you for the information, pjb33.

 

[Deja_Blu]

UNC finally updated their 2026 roster, probably due to the Wisne court case in CO putting our grad assistants back in limbo?

2026 Field Hockey Roster - University of North Carolina Athletics

The official 2026 Field Hockey Roster for the North Carolina Heels

goheels.com

I have removed recruits Floor Holzenbach, Emersyn O'Leary and Soph Olivia Anderson from our player list in the first post, based solely on them not being on the official roster.

Also note that Molly Nussbaumer was upgraded to a Top 10 recruit on the final 2026 Max FH Top 100 list. That gave UNC 3 top 10 players, edging Maryland and Princeton each with 2 in the top 10. Princeton still gets the nod with the top class with 5 women total in the top 50.

3397char, are you referring to the same roster as hiphopoptamus's post #124 on August 8th?
The team photo and newcomers' photos followed on Aug 24th.

 

[3397char]

Ah, I missed that. Was on vacay for a couple of weeks around then.

 

[Deja_Blu]

A short reminder of 3397char's helpful post #219:
#10 USA vs #7 ENG - Placement Match, 9th or 10th
Thursday, August 27 at 8:00 a.m. ET. watch.hockey live and/or later replay

 

[Deja_Blu]

Ah, I missed that. Was on vacay for a couple of weeks around then.

Good for you. I noticed a batch of posts from you all at once that were informative and helpful - filled in missing pieces and added clarity - especially for all the legalese. To say you are not a lawyer and yet you seem to grasp the intricacies of it all is impressive. Now, I know why.

 

[Deja_Blu]

Very exciting match, USWNT vs Eng.
All 4 Tar Heels contributing.
Bing absolutely brilliant between the pipes.
Worth a watch ...

 

[Deja_Blu]

Now, that is a Hoffman/Heck highlight ...

 

[3397char]

Now, that is a Hoffman/Heck highlight ...

I cant wait to see the highlights; great that Heck got a goal to end the tourney.

USA loses to England 1-3. The Eagles finish in 10th place.

At the end of it all we tied #2 Argentina, and our only two losses were to #5 Germany and #7 England. That is a pretty excellent result. given expectations for our 12th ranked team going in (now up to #10 world ranking due to these results.)

#1 Netherlands will play #3 Belgium and #2 Argentina will play #8 Australia later today in the semifinals to determine who plays for the cup.

 

[Deja_Blu]

I cant wait to see the highlights; great that Heck got a goal to end the tourney.

USA loses to England 1-3. The Eagles finish in 10th place.

At the end of it all we tied #2 Argentina, and our only two losses were to #5 Germany and #7 England. That is a pretty excellent result. given expectations for our 12th ranked team going in (now up to #10 world ranking due to these results.)

#1 Netherlands will play #3 Belgium and #2 Argentina will play #8 Australia later today in the semifinals to determine who plays for the cup.

Thank-you 3397char.
Here you go:

 

[Jriv23]

Correct. MaxFH class rankings do not include international players. I agree that 2-3 of our international players seriously bolster this class. The problem then becomes trying to assess our internationals versus other team's internationals. No way to do that easily. There is just too little info out there.

But it is certainly fair to say our class of 7 recruits includes 5-6 players who project to be high quality ACC starters at some point in their careers. Plus an elite transfer GK who will immediately contend with Skubisz for starting role.

If you will go back and listen to the interview that EM just did with Tommy. She tells you a lot of information about the international players as well as the freshmen. She also stated that both goal keepers will be playing every game. She will use the two goalie system. One will play the first half and the other will play the second half. Each game will dictate whose plays the first half and who plays the second half.

 

[Jriv23]

Good for you. I noticed a batch of posts from you all at once that were informative and helpful - filled in missing pieces and added clarity - especially for all the legalese. To say you are not a lawyer and yet you seem to grasp the intricacies of it all is impressive. Now, I know why.

If you go back and listen to the video EM did with Tommy the other day. She touches / talks about all of this. Just go back and listen to it if you have not. She clears a lot of this up.

 

[Deja_Blu]

It is, I think, most unfortunate that we rarely see video highlights of superior defensive play.
One might think because of the full time 3-1 score that team USA lacked that.
When, in my view, that is far from the case.

Take Kelsey Bing, for example.
The veteran announcers Charlie Brougham and Emily Kilner on multiple occasions complemented her on her standing stick saves, diving "log" blocks or outstretched boot kicks. England, who entered the match with the lowest number of successful APC's in the 2026 WC matches, rediscovered their technique and scored all three of their goals on APC's.

To give Jenny Rizzo some WC experience, they subbed her in to start the second frame. England packed the area in front of the cage during their 2nd successful APC for the score. I cannot say what happened. But, Bing returned to the cage after that. She was eventually pulled in favor of another field player with about 4 minutes remaining.

England earned another penalty corner. Five field players stood between the pipes and successfully defended a German drag-flick. The shot headed towards the upper center right where Ashley Hoffman reached up and stick blocked it. Brilliant. Those come to mind. I am certain there are more that evade me at the moment.

The USA Eagles entered and departed the FIH WC ranked 10th. I know they are not satisfied and David Passmore is disappointed. During the halftime interview he stated "I believe we can win." And he meant it. Then, he described how they would do it - continue their pressing 1-v-1 defense, capitalize on their fitness and speed, be more economical with their passes and better utilize the free space inside their offensive third.

But, they could not overcome the more experienced and strong, physical English side. But in my view, Argentina was more sad than team USA was happy with a tie. Likewise, England entered the world cup with designs to place in the top 8 and did not.

What team USA really really needs now is more quality opponents to practice for and compete with to grow and improve their game. Without FIH, that is most difficult. A few USA players have already signed with international teams.

Stateside tomorrow we cheer on our Tar Heels at Kentner Stadium against Michigan. Go Heels.

 

[minas823]

Three takeaways from UNC field hockey’s exhibition loss

Learning from mistakes will be key for a UNC field hockey team that has returning players filling new roles, a strong transfer class and a difficult schedule.

dailytarheel.com

Ending regulation putting up 3 against Wake (yes I’m aware of personnel away from team - said to wake fan on the board) is promising. Defensive woes may continue for another season. Fingers crossed that they tighten up back there.

 

[Deja_Blu]

Today's opponent:

Wolverines to Open 2026 Campaign at ACC/B1G Challenge - University of Michigan Athletics

Michigan opens the 2026 season with a pair of top-10 matchups at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, facing No. 2 North Carolina and No. 7 Wake Forest. The No. 14 Wol...

mgoblue.com

 

[Deja_Blu]

UNC has 8 players on the NFHCA 2026 Div-1 Watchlist. (Michigan, 5).
Winston-Salem bound.

NFHCA 2026 Division I Watchlist

Explore the 2026 NFHCA Division I Watchlist, highlighting top collegiate field hockey student-athletes poised for a standout season.

nfhca.org

 

[oldwell]

Looks like a 30 min delay

 

[minas823]

New start time for 4:25

 

[Jriv23]

New start time for 4:25

okay and thanks. I can watch more of the soccer game.

 

[Chooch]

It’s 4:41, still showing delay on ESPN app, anyone there that can give an update on the weather? Thanks I’m looking for these girls to get started.

 

[3397char]

i still see delay as well

 

[minas823]

I have not seen an updated start time. Around 4 uncfh tweeted that just as they were taking the field that there was another lightning strike.

 

[minas823]

5:30

 

[Jriv23]

It’s 4:41, still showing delay on ESPN app, anyone there that can give an update on the weather? Thanks I’m looking for these girls to get started.

I feel your pain. I just flipped back over to field hockey from watching the soccer game and I am getting the same thing.

 

[Jriv23]

FYI, the game is on now. There are on a commercial break. I have turned in. Go Heels!

 

[Chooch]

It shows a commercial break, i’m anxious to see these girls play and love our women’s field hockey program! Go Heels!

 

[minas823]

Start time is for 5:30, as I noted above.

No Imme. Praying her time on the DL is short. Happy to see Ella get the start up top! Will be nice to have Cecily off the bench.

 

[Chooch]

I was going by Jriv23 who said it was on now.

 

[oldwell]

In his defense, it does say commercial break

 

[minas823]

I like what we’re seeing so far! - this was the first 3 minutes I was referring to…

 

[minas823]

Charly looks very fit

 

[unc80]

We're passing the ball out of bounds a lot. Weird strategy.

 

[unc80]

Unimpressive so far. Offense can't generate anything. Can't connect or mount serious threats. Wondering if we'll score today.

 

[minas823]

Unrelated to field hockey… Romea looks likes she could give birth on the field at any moment

 

[minas823]

Unimpressive so far. Offense can't generate anything. Can't connect or mount serious threats. Wondering if we'll score today.

First game. Relax

 

[minas823]

We are not looking to draw corners at all