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UNC Field Hockey 2026-2027

oldwell

oldwell

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Aug 1, 2025
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3397char said:
Let me start with a caveat that I am applying some unfair hindsight boas here.

With that said, it is surprising to me how few transfers we brought in, considering there was roster space.

First, just for some clarity on this argument, high school recruiting now wraps up almost 2 years before a season begins. That is the most important part of roster building but it long-term stacking of talent that is not based on current needs. When it comes to rounding out a team there is the second cycle: college transfers and international players are both in play at roughly the same time: in teh offseason prior to the current year.

So lets talk about this past off-season recruiting cycle. Here are our additions, roughly in order of their projected impact:

  1. Int D Floor Holzenbosch - Top developmental player in NED - likely would have been a top player on this team but did not make it to campus
  2. Grad transfer GK Shahbo - an excellent get; every reason to believe she would compete for teh GK spot, possibly rotate with Skubitz. She was our only transfer.
  3. Int D/MF Imme De Leeuw - Top level developmental club player in NED - also projected as a probable starter, currently injured
  4. Int F Cecilly Moorhead - Top Developmental player in UK - starting to come into her own: a contributor at the F position where we need help.
  5. Int MF Micky Van Baasbank - Less information on her, but appeared to be a 2nd tier NED developmental player (which is still good) - Has not player at all; also injured?
In looking at this list I don't have much complaint about the international haul: this appears to be elite level talent coming in. I would bet that Holzenbosch next to Pottebaum would have made a solid back line.

But we have not seen 3 of the 4 play at all, so in the end, this group has not made an impact. Throw in Shahbo losing out to Skubisz and this entire haul basically consists of back-up minutes by Moorhead so far. Almost no impact, largely due to bad luck.

But that still leaves me with two questions:
  1. Why did we only bring in one transfer; no field players? We still had at least one roster spot. Were we content with what we had or did we just miss on our transfer targets?
  2. Along the same lines, why almost no forwards? Did we think this current roster had no holes in the attacking positions?
Remember, when these decisions were made, we had no reason to believe the 5th year seniors would be in a position to play. The transfer portal cycle was basically done when that court case settled. Also note that almost all of our heralded HS recruits are playing and producing: Ferri & O'Donnell start and Nussbaumer gets major bench minutes. Our other USA freshmen did not come in with teh accolades where you would project them to contribute as freshmen.

By comparison, last season our team had much more returning talent and depth, yet we still brought in MF Mendez, GK Wimmer and F Kara Heck in the portal plus Boere from NED. Three very key starters plus a top reserve.
Click to expand...
I was surprised at the lack of transfers as well. I figure we’re a pretty attractive place to land talent and that doesn’t seem to be a problem for Erin. And I highly doubt NIL/rev share is playing a role in field hockey.

I have no inside knowledge of how recruits/players view Erin, but it appears that she’s well-liked. The program speaks for itself. I’d imagine if you go to a player and tell her, we have several staring spots available, they’d jump on the opportunity.

I can only guess they expected Floor and Immee to be exceptional maybe even All-ACC level talents. And to their credit, I think this would be a different team if we had those two, and they were exceptional players.

Learning experience for the future.
 
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unc80

unc80

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Nov 1, 2009
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TommyAshley said:
I asked Coach Matson way back in March - how do you replace an Erin Matson, a Ryleigh Heck? And I didn't just mean physical talent on the field. It's not easy and we are seeing not only the talent side of it, but the mental side. Those two had that killer attitude on the field, the go get a goal by yourself if you have to, the ability to drag along their teammates and not let there by any let up at all, at any time. Those players make it really easy on a coach too - we've all heard about player led teams.

Some have it - but only a few and even fewer have that at the freshman stage. So what you need is folks to step up and take charge and simply not let your team lose. The older players specifically. And we haven't seen that yet with this group. And it's not just between the lines in the 60 minutes of play. It's across the board, in the locker room, in practice, all the time.

I think the litigation dragging out hasn't helped either. On one hand, you absolutely do 100 percent what you can do to have those three on the team and eligible. On the other, it's only human nature for folks to hold out hope for that to happen and maybe think, well if we can just get them back.... A decision needs to be made one way or another and sooner than later for everyone's sake.

They win and are able to play - clearly the team gets much much better.

They lose and are not able to play - the remaining players (and coaches) had better focus up and get it going or they'll be remembered as the players that were a part of team that didn't reach the program's standard. Some of the issues on the are not talent related, but focus and drive and want to (IMO).
Click to expand...
Seems this is spot-on to me. Importance of player leadership in team sports cannot be over-stated I keep hoping to see it emerge. I'm 110% sure it will return to the program, but it's slow to appear this season and I'm just not a patient fellow.
 
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Deja_Blu

Sophomore
Jul 1, 2026
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The 2018 team had off the charts leadership, IMO.
After their dismal 2017 season, they among themselves pledged to one another they would not lose another game. (Marissa Creatore after their 2nd perfect season and Natty - smiling, yea, but we did not mean at the time to go undefeated for two years.)
They themselves held voluntary workouts on their NCAA mandated days off - no coaches.
Their team motto: "With each other. For each Other."
Those are a few examples of senior leadership lead by team captain Ashley Hoffman.
Sometimes I see Grace and Charly make the effort; but, they like almost everyone else in the world, did not grow up with a mom who played in the Olympics.
 
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Deja_Blu

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Jul 1, 2026
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The transfer portal (TP) is an interesting subject, I think.
There is little public facing information to be had. I gather NFHCARecruits is a
free resource for student athletics and coaches after they sign-up. And perhaps
The Hockey Analyst tracks it somehow.

Relatively speaking, FH transfer activity is low and actually dropped from a peak of
183 in 2023-24 to 137 in 2024-25. (Source Brave browser search engine and AI).
"Based on the 2025-26 fall portal window, the below colleges added the most
FH transfer." Feel free to doubt the numbers. I myself cannot with certainty verify them.
UConn had 5; Penn State, Drexel and William & Mary each had 2 and Rutgers and
NW each had 1.

Question. Do we know that a player in the transfer portal filled a need every time and
transferred to another program? We know in other sports many do not. Can a player
reach out to a coach in addition to entering the TP.

Another question. The Ivy League (IL) is 4 and done for all students, athlete or
or not. The IL did not redshirt and to my knowledge they do not adhere to the 5 for 5
ruling. Is an IL player considered a transfer when they have exhausted their eligibility?
 
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3397char

3397char

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Jun 30, 2025
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Deja_Blu said:
The transfer portal (TP) is an interesting subject, I think.
There is little public facing information to be had. I gather NFHCARecruits is a
free resource for student athletics and coaches after they sign-up. And perhaps
The Hockey Analyst tracks it somehow.

Relatively speaking, FH transfer activity is low and actually dropped from a peak of
183 in 2023-24 to 137 in 2024-25. (Source Brave browser search engine and AI).
"Based on the 2025-26 fall portal window, the below colleges added the most
FH transfer." Feel free to doubt the numbers. I myself cannot with certainty verify them.
UConn had 5; Penn State, Drexel and William & Mary each had 2 and Rutgers and
NW each had 1.

Question. Do we know that a player in the transfer portal filled a need every time and
transferred to another program? We know in other sports many do not. Can a player
reach out to a coach in addition to entering the TP.

Another question. The Ivy League (IL) is 4 and done for all students, athlete or
or not. The IL did not redshirt and to my knowledge they do not adhere to the 5 for 5
ruling. Is an IL player considered a transfer when they have exhausted their eligibility?
Click to expand...
The Ivy League still does not allow grad students to participate in sports. so in theory, the Ivy League will continue to be an excellent source for grad transfers with 1-2 years of eligibility left. This will be particularly true for FH, because the Ivy League is quite good at this sport.

While I do think FH has abnormally low transfer numbers compared to other sports, I think the transfer numbers you reported are low. dook, Louisville, Cuse, UVA and BC all have transfers who start, some have multiple, though I don't remember which year they transferred. Not sure about the west coast teams.

But your point is well made, perhaps this sport has a pretty small viable transfer pool, at least until next year when grad students start moving around more.

Yes, a player can technically reach out to another team's coach at any time, but a coach cannot contact a player until they are officially listed in the portal (and have not included a do not contact tag)
 
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3397char

3397char

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Sorry to beat a dead horse, but here is the current RPI:


Rank
Team​
Record1ACR2RPI3SOS4
19-099.80.7700.735
28-099.60.7170.628
35-197.90.6730.662
48-098.60.6620.560
5
Iowa​
7-198.60.6520.586
65-298.70.6510.663
76-198.00.6500.588
85-197.50.6470.597
9
Duke​
5-298.40.6470.656
106-298.00.6440.625
117-197.20.6250.550
126-197.40.6140.529
135-197.40.6140.528
143-596.60.6120.755
154-397.70.6100.653
16
Yale​
5-097.70.6070.420
175-297.80.6060.582
183-395.80.5950.687
195-297.90.5910.522
204-297.50.5880.554
215-396.50.5820.607
223-497.10.5740.681
234-496.40.5730.652
245-397.30.5660.550
256-296.40.5660.498
263-495.80.5630.678
273-496.30.5620.664
286-197.20.5510.401
295-397.10.5500.522
305-196.80.5490.409

I am assuming this website has the algorithm correct; the official NCAA site is not yet in use for the current season.

UNC is currently 22nd. We just lost to #33 ODU & #19 UVA. Our best win is #20 Princeton

Note that there are only 8 at-large bids to the NCAAT, so the bubble is usually in the 12th - 15th range. And for FH specifically the selection committee ignores human polls and rarely strays from RPI besides just a couple of secondary criteria like head-to-head , results vs common opponents and key wins.

UNC desperately needs some key wins, starting with @ #12 Stanford on Friday and @ #3 Cal on Sunday. If we go winless on the west coast swing it will be hard to make the NCAAT outside of sweeping the remainder of the regular season or winning the ACCT. (How the heck did Cal get to #3???)
 
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Deja_Blu

Sophomore
Jul 1, 2026
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Thank you, 3397char. Based on your previous posts on the legal to-and-fro, I hoped you would help those like me who are not attuned to it and with the TP. Yes, `feel free to doubt the numbers.` I noticed earlier that the Cal Bears may be having themselves a year. Against NW they held their own until, I think, they flat wore out. It is difficult for me to believe they had no subs; but, that is what the live stats and Box Scores reported - although I still question it. I know little about Cal except for their coach and the international phenom they have. (Oh, on the transfer portal - BC is where 2 UNC players landed last year I think and UVa has a 5th year from UNC. Very bright student, graduated early and in her 2nd yr masters there. All 3 log game time minutes for their new teams.) Cal may well give us fits; not certain about Sanford. As for RPI, you probably are familiar with the below site; but, perhaps others are not. Just click on the Column Heading you want to sort in that order (default ACR). I appreciate your replies.
From the

FieldHockeyCorner dot com​

 
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3397char

3397char

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AI says the Indiana court case(Daley v NCAA) should have a ruling on a temporary injunction by Friday at the latest.

then UNC will have to decide if the ruling is iron clad enough that they will allow athlete to play on a temporary injunction (ncaa bylaws state athletes who play under a TPO and then lose their case were ways ineligible and the school will be subject tomsqnctions)

and so far the NCAA has appealed every TPO and won, getting an emergency stay to end the TPOs


so there are multiple reasons the decision we are waiting on may not be the final word.
 
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TommyAshley

TommyAshley

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3397char said:
AI says the Indiana court case(Daley v NCAA) should have a ruling on a temporary injunction by Friday at the latest.

then UNC will have to decide if the ruling is iron clad enough that they will allow athlete to play on a temporary injunction (ncaa bylaws state athletes who play under a TPO and then lose their case were ways ineligible and the school will be subject tomsqnctions)

and so far the NCAA has appealed every TPO and won, getting an emergency stay to end the TPOs


so there are multiple reasons the decision we are waiting on may not be the final word.
Click to expand...
Case was heard in Indiana. NCAA’s home turf. I think that matters here. As Matson said in our recent interview, the NCAA hinted that cases heard there wouldn’t be further contested. They have fought all the other state rulings for some obvious reasons (my take).

No idea on when the judge will rule, but they hoped it’d be last Friday. So they continue to wait.

I do think the fact that two IU football players are in the case matters too. We will see how much.
 
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Jriv23

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TommyAshley said:
Click to expand...

No surprise here. You cannot stay on top for ever. All great teams have a down year no matter what the sport is. This is a part of life. We just have to keep learning and growing as a team. Like I stated before, these girls do not like losing along with the coaching staff. EM said it best, we have to keep growing as a team bottom line. Go Heels!
 
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minas823

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Oct 13, 2025
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I do think there’s a slight overreaction by the masses with the recent fall out from the rankings.

The NFCHA adopted the new eligibility of maintaining a .500 or better record prior to the 2023 season. There were plenty of seasons where sub .500 teams remained in the top 20/25 poll.

In my opinion, UNC is easily a top 15 team still. We need to back this up with a couple of W’s this weekend.

Head up Heels! Keep working hard. I trust this staff to work this out. I just hope the team finds confidence for a full game, if they can do that - they will start pulling out more and more wins.
 
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SpencerHaskell

SpencerHaskell

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JOB1937 said:
Yes! Confirmed to me by one of the player’s dad. It can obviously change but the ncaa said they weren’t planning on appealing any ruling out of Indiana.
Click to expand...
www.on3.com

Inside UNC Field Hockey’s Ongoing Eligibility Fight

UNC field hockey standouts Ryleigh Heck, Dani Mendez and Sietske Bruning joined a lawsuit against the NCAA, the latest chapter in their battle for eligibility.
www.on3.com www.on3.com

“The NCAA said, ‘We will not contest anything that happens in Indiana. It’s our backyard. It’s where we’re based,’” Matson told Inside Carolina. “The girls were informed to join Indiana. Again, not guaranteeing an outcome one way or the other, but at least here we know whatever happens, the NCAA is not going to go after it like the other state lawsuits.
 
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oldwell

oldwell

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Could be a blessing in disguise.

Got to get some young players some run and that’ll pay off.

The record is gaudy right now but I can definitely see us not losing another regular season game until the NCAAs.
 
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minas823

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Stanford and Cal will be two tough opponents, even with the gang back.

I mean these are three All Americans walking back on to the field for us. I’m so excited to see how Sofia plays with them.

I am elated to have all of them back, specifically Dani. Having her for one season was such a tease.
 
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oldwell

oldwell

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minas823 said:
Stanford has played teams very tough this season… as has Cal.

I mean these are three All Americans walking back on to the field for us. I’m so excited to see how Sofia plays with them.

I am elated to have all of them back, but specifically Dani. Having her for one season was such a tease.
Click to expand...
Also, it’s gotta be a plus that they were practicing the whole time.
 
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minas823

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Our defense needs the most help in my opinion, along with help advancing the ball from the back. I’d love to see Sietske stay back there. And join the attack at opportunistic times.

I think Sofia should stay in the midfield, as she’s continued to steadily improve with each game. We will need that experience desperately for next year..
 
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minas823

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I rewatched the Virginia game, and Reid really does have Maddie Zimmer like jets. I hope the staff recognizes this and just tells her to pony up and go with the ball (get those reps for next year). Not so much a concern anymore, but she could end up being a very special player for us.
 
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oldwell

oldwell

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minas823 said:
I rewatched the Virginia game, and Reid has Maddie Zimmer like speed. I hope the staff recognizes this and just tells her to pony up and go with the ball (get those reps for next year). Not so much a concern anymore, but she could end up being a very special player for us.
Click to expand...
I think it'll also make the younger players like Ferri, O’Donnell, Reid better because they’ll have less pressure to be the stars, so they can play more relaxed, which typically leads to good things.
 
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3397char

3397char

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minas823 said:
How definitive is this ruling? For the rest of the season?
Click to expand...
There are four key factors in our favor:

1. This temporary injunction includes specific language in the ruling that bars the NCAA from later punishing schools from playing players under the injunction if they eventually lose the case and are ruled ineligible (there is a controversial NCAA bylaw that says schools can be punished later if they lose the case, but this restraining order addresses that) This gives UNC the freedom to not risk future vacating of wins and sanctions.
2. this injunction covers the entire 2026-27 season for all athletes in the class, regardless of sport.
3. the court case date is not yet set, and it is highly likely to be after the field hockey season concludes, probably in 2027
4. there is rumor that the NCAA has made clear that they will not pursue appeals in this particular case because it is in their home state/court so they respect the jurisdiction.

assuming all the above hold true with no surprises this is about as secure as it possibly could be that our three FH players are clear to compete through the end of the season.
 
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3397char

3397char

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minas823 said:
Stanford and Cal will be two tough opponents, even with the gang back.

I mean these are three All Americans walking back on to the field for us. I’m so excited to see how Sofia plays with them.

I am elated to have all of them back, specifically Dani. Having her for one season was such a tease.
Click to expand...
Not to get ahead of myself here but...

I expect all three will start, obviously, but specifically Bruning will move to right attacking mid, Mendez at Center midfield and Heck playing all over the front line, but perhaps right forward is the technical placement with Bruder centered to receive passes for shots.

My guess is Barbacci, Catchpole, and Miller move into substitution roles as first women off the bench.

I will be looking specifically for our ability to advance the ball up the sideline (Bruning and Ferri) and up the middle (Mendez) where the ball has been stalling so far this year. Bruning is an elite dribbler with 3D skills.

I think this is more key than the circle entry issue and getting good shots. we will now be possessing the ball in the attacking 3rd much more often.

But but as for circle entry and creating shots: Look for Heck to defeat defenders at that circle and create tons more corners. her ability to earn corners is often overlooked because it does not show up in stats. she defeats the double/triple tems through purposeful foul creating and elite passing. Shge can dribble in a phone booth. Those double and triple teams create openings for other attackers. Bruning is also excellent at turning the corner and entering the circle on the baseline.
 
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