Unbeaten Harvard moves up to No. 3 in latest coaches poll: NFHCA
Morena Giacosa (Liberty), Ryleigh Heck (North Carolina), and Ashley Sessa (Northwestern) have all had standout seasons.
Harvard women’s field hockey is in a category of its own category remaining undefeated on the season.
They are now ranked No. 3, according to the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll published Tuesday. The Division I week eight poll is a composite vote of association member coaches.
The Crimson captured the Ivy League title for the first time since 2023 and extended their program-record winning streak to 15 straight games, highlighting a weekend of major milestones.
Connecticut reentered the rankings at No. 20 after being unranked since week one, when the Huskies were listed at No. 16.
Northwestern, in its second week at No. 2, clinched the Big Ten Championship title for the third consecutive season and the ninth in program history. The Wildcats posted a season-high of seven goals in a 7-0 shutout win over Ohio State, highlighted by an impressive upright reverse shot goal from Ashley Sessa off a rebound.
North Carolina’s Ryleigh Heck reached 62 career goals, placing her seventh in the program’s history for most career goals. Head coach Erin Matson leads the program with 137 career goals.
The Tar Heels have been on a frightfully successful run all season, even after their one loss to Wake Forest.
Liberty delivered a scoring surge, defeating Longwood 7-1 with goals from six different players. Morena Giacosa recorded her first career two-goal game, while Madie Baker notched her first career goal.
Julieta Tornati, Avery Pollock, Dara Semmartin, and Tori Griffiths also found the back of the net. Channy Johnson scored for Longwood.
Another notable milestone, Miami topped Ohio 4-1 in the Red Hawks’ 1,000th game in program history.
Bolded teams have moved positions higher or lower from week-to-week.
20. UConn, 9-7 (unranked)
18. Rutgers, 8-8 (17)
18. Brown, 9-5 (19)
17. Indiana, 9-7 (20)
16. Yale, 12-3 (14)
15. UMass Amherst, 14-3 (16)
14. Michigan, 8-6 (13)
13. Miami (OH), 12-4 (15)
12. Monmouth, 11-3 (11)
11. Maryland, 9-6 (11)
10. Iowa, 11-4 (10)
9. Syracuse, 11-4 (9)
8. Duke, 11-5 (8)
7. Liberty, 14-2 (7)
6. Wake Forest, 15-2 (6)
5. Princeton, 12-3 (5)
4. Virginia, 12-1 (3)
3. Harvard, 15-0 (4)
2. Northwestern, 15-1 (2)
1. North Carolina, 15-1 (1)
Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Sydney Madden is a student-intern at Penn State University.
