A lot! Dry field the ball is more unpredictable, takes strange bounces etc
UNC Field Hockey 2026-2027
- Thread starter 3397char
- Start date
Like a pack of killer whales?
This guy wants to be Dr. Ty.
This guy wants to be Dr. Ty.
I feel like there should have been at least 6 cards to Cal to this point
All in all, couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.
12 goals, 1 allowed.
Cal only had one real scoring opportunity today.
12 goals, 1 allowed.
Cal only had one real scoring opportunity today.
they have a field patch that starts just in front of the circle. Must be a lip there that causes the ball to jump.
the Heels eventually stopped attempting the stick stop.
No, I do not think so. I think she has not played against top level competition yet and it is showing. Cal's first couple of games were against cup cake teams. She is leading the ACC because Heck, Dani, and Seitske first game was on Friday. Heck already has 3 goals and she was not able to play in the first seven games.
I made that comment because of her taking and whacking the ball after time expired
I’ve been manifesting her transferring to us since her freshman year lol
Yeah I think we’ll be more aggressive in the transfer market this year, especially after we got a little screwed with Floor’s eligibility.
Should be aiming for 3 high level transfers. Not sure if that’s feasible, but if anyone can do it, Carolina can.
I can't help but say it again. This is a completely different team with the big 3 back- as much due to their intangibles that they bring as to their physical skills.
We are soooo back. Heels looking like the Heels again.
Huge upgrade in talent and experience, but they definitely bring fire and leadership that we haven't had all season.
In all fairness to the returners on the team, I am sure it was hard to step up as a leader when for the past 8 or so years you have had 2 of the most dominant players in the history of NCAA FH leading you.
That's the challenge right? You've seen what it takes from the best to ever do it, so there's little excuse not to go at it with the same level of commitment and leadership.
But easier said than done like you said, and there's the talent side of it too. The hope now is the new talent on the team gets a taste of it and carries it forward beyond this season.
We are still waiting for one more recruit to be revealed. I’m assuming it is an international student, working through the logistics before announcing by the team/student.
This early season should have identified gaps in talent which could be addressed in Transfer Portal this off season.
No update on Imme besides that it could be an ACL potentially and that was 3 weeks ago at this point.
I think Micky is just a development prospect for this year.
In field hockey they tend to follow RPI pretty closely.
Speaking of which, what a difference 1 week-end can make, we are now back on the bubble :
DI Field Hockey Rankings - NCAA Field Hockey RPI | NCAA.com
Get updated NCAA Field Hockey DI rankings from every source, including coaches and national polls.
www.ncaa.com
Through Games Sep. 27 2026
| Rank | School | Record | Conf | Road | Neutral | Home | Non-Div I | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwestern | 10-0 | Big Ten | 4-0 | 1-0 | 5-0 | 0-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Maryland | 9-0 | Big Ten | 2-0 | 1-0 | 6-0 | 0-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Harvard | 6-1 | Ivy League | 1-0 | 0-0 | 5-1 | 0-0 | 8 |
| 4 | Iowa | 9-1 | Big Ten | 1-0 | 3-0 | 5-1 | 0-0 | 5 |
| 5 | Wake Forest | 6-3 | ACC | 2-1 | 0-0 | 4-2 | 0-0 | 6 |
| 6 | Duke | 7-2 | ACC | 2-0 | 0-2 | 5-0 | 0-0 | 9 |
| 7 | UConn | 7-1 | Big East | 3-1 | 1-0 | 3-0 | 0-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Lafayette | 8-1 | Patriot | 3-1 | 1-0 | 4-0 | 0-0 | 11 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 10-0 | MAC | 5-0 | 1-0 | 4-0 | 0-0 | 4 |
| 10 | Louisville | 7-3 | ACC | 3-1 | 0-2 | 4-0 | 0-0 | 10 |
| 11 | California | 5-3 | ACC | 2-0 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 3 |
| 12 | Syracuse | 6-2 | ACC | 4-2 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 12 |
| 13 | Indiana | 6-3 | Big Ten | 2-2 | 1-1 | 3-0 | 0-0 | 25 |
| 14 | North Carolina | 5-4 | ACC | 3-0 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 23 |
| 15 | Miami (OH) | 6-3 | MAC | 2-2 | 1-1 | 3-0 | 0-0 | 14 |
| 16 | Princeton | 4-3 | Ivy League | 2-3 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 20 |
| 17 | Stanford | 7-2 | ACC | 2-0 | 0-0 | 5-2 | 0-0 | 17 |
| 18 | Boston College | 3-6 | ACC | 1-4 | 1-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 13 |
| 19 | Virginia | 5-3 | ACC | 4-1 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 19 |
| 20 | Michigan | 5-3 | Big Ten | 2-2 | 1-0 | 2-1 | 0-0 | 16 |
But, if we want to remove any doubt we must keep winning
Here are the 2025 RPI rankings at NCAA tournament selection time:
Note that they only actually name the top 4 seeds, but the rest I extrapolated by how a bracket pairing should work. They also likely moved people around a bit for regionality. But at the end of the day, the cut-off for in/out exactly matched the RPI: top 13 in, and no team below that earned an at-large bid.
so the first team out was RPI #14. It could have been as low as RPI #12 but both Liberty and Miami snuck into the top 12 as AQ's, AND they won their conference tournaments (right now Lafayette and UMass are holding similar high RPIs; we want them to win out, including their tournaments.)
So again, UNC has a little more work to do to guarantee safety as an at-large bid. You really want to be top 9 heading into the ACC tournament so an ACCT loss does not drop you squarely on the bubble.
Top 4 seed is always the goal: home field advantage and all the way to Final Four (in Louisville this year) and better seeding match-ups. For UNC, we would probably need to win out to even have a chance at top 4.
- University of North Carolina (19-1) 1seed - automatic qualifier (AQ)
- Princeton University (15-3) 2 seed - AQ
- Northwestern University (18-1) 5 seed - AQ
- Harvard University (17-1) 3 seed - at-large #1
- University of Virginia (16-2) 4 seed - at-large #2
- Duke University (12-7) 8 seed - at-large #4
- Liberty University (17-2) 7 seed - AQ
- Wake Forest University (15-4) 6 seed - at-large #3
- Syracuse University (12-6) 10 seed - at-large #6
- Miami (OH) University (15-4) 13 seed - AQ
- University of Connecticut (11-8) 11 seed - at-large #7
- Yale University (12-5) 12 seed - lowest "seeded" at-large bid - at-large #8
- University of Iowa (14-5) 9 seed - lowest RPI ranked at-large bid - at-large #5
- University of Massachusetts - first team out
- University of Pennsylvania - second team out
- Brown University
- Monmouth University
- University of Michigan
- Rutgers University
- Cornell University
Note that they only actually name the top 4 seeds, but the rest I extrapolated by how a bracket pairing should work. They also likely moved people around a bit for regionality. But at the end of the day, the cut-off for in/out exactly matched the RPI: top 13 in, and no team below that earned an at-large bid.
so the first team out was RPI #14. It could have been as low as RPI #12 but both Liberty and Miami snuck into the top 12 as AQ's, AND they won their conference tournaments (right now Lafayette and UMass are holding similar high RPIs; we want them to win out, including their tournaments.)
So again, UNC has a little more work to do to guarantee safety as an at-large bid. You really want to be top 9 heading into the ACC tournament so an ACCT loss does not drop you squarely on the bubble.
Top 4 seed is always the goal: home field advantage and all the way to Final Four (in Louisville this year) and better seeding match-ups. For UNC, we would probably need to win out to even have a chance at top 4.
The reality is FH does not get many transfers. We can not rely on a big name jumping in the portal.
This is a good moment to shout out Maddie Kahn! Easy to forget that without her, we may not have won the title in 23’. That performance in cage was one I’ll never forget.
It’s not very likely that we will receive another player to the caliber of Maddie, Dani or Kara H again…
The 2026 transfer portal was uncharacteristically low as it was the gap year between the COVID 5 year careers and the start of 5in5.
I also do not recall many notable head coach firings or retirements that often flood the portal. I think Michigan State, JMU and Cal were maybe the most notable teams?
Ivy League will continue to provide great transfer talent.; probably triple.
And with the 5in5 rule, the transfer pool will go back up as many of the top women will seek the best grad school opportunity instead of planning for pro hockey careers. but I think you are generally correct: the transfer pool in FH is not like some other sports.
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Gotcha- I didn't know much about Micky but had seen her name on the roster. However, it seems if developing they would have gotten her a few minutes in Penn and Stanford games.
I agree. With just have to keep winning. Winning sure does solve a lot of problems and headaches. Our young women and the coaching staff knows what needs to be done. As EM stated early, We have to take it one game at a time. Go Heels!In field hockey they tend to follow RPI pretty closely.
Speaking of which, what a difference 1 week-end can make, we are now back on the bubble :
DI Field Hockey Rankings - NCAA Field Hockey RPI | NCAA.com
Get updated NCAA Field Hockey DI rankings from every source, including coaches and national polls.
Through Games Sep. 27 2026
Rank School Record Conf Road Neutral Home Non-Div I Prev 1 Northwestern 10-0 Big Ten 4-0 1-0 5-0 0-0 1 2 Maryland 9-0 Big Ten 2-0 1-0 6-0 0-0 2 3 Harvard 6-1 Ivy League 1-0 0-0 5-1 0-0 8 4 Iowa 9-1 Big Ten 1-0 3-0 5-1 0-0 5 5 Wake Forest 6-3 ACC 2-1 0-0 4-2 0-0 6 6 Duke 7-2 ACC 2-0 0-2 5-0 0-0 9 7 UConn 7-1 Big East 3-1 1-0 3-0 0-0 7 8 Lafayette 8-1 Patriot 3-1 1-0 4-0 0-0 11 9 Massachusetts 10-0 MAC 5-0 1-0 4-0 0-0 4 10 Louisville 7-3 ACC 3-1 0-2 4-0 0-0 10 11 California 5-3 ACC 2-0 0-0 3-3 0-0 3 12 Syracuse 6-2 ACC 4-2 1-0 1-0 0-0 12 13 Indiana 6-3 Big Ten 2-2 1-1 3-0 0-0 25 14 North Carolina 5-4 ACC 3-0 0-2 2-2 0-0 23 15 Miami (OH) 6-3 MAC 2-2 1-1 3-0 0-0 14 16 Princeton 4-3 Ivy League 2-3 1-0 1-0 0-0 20 17 Stanford 7-2 ACC 2-0 0-0 5-2 0-0 17 18 Boston College 3-6 ACC 1-4 1-0 1-2 0-0 13 19 Virginia 5-3 ACC 4-1 0-1 1-1 0-0 19 20 Michigan 5-3 Big Ten 2-2 1-0 2-1 0-0 16
But, if we want to remove any doubt we must keep winning
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