A look at the Ivy League: Harvard women’s field hockey top conference list; Princeton historic leader in the NCAA tournament
The Ivies are leaving a mark in the 2025 Fall women’s college field hockey season.
Harvard field hockey are in the national discussion this year with a perfect 10-0 record.
In just 10 games, the Crimson defense has held strong, allowing an average of 0.6 goals per game. Harvard has also extended the best start in program history this past weekend with wins over the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University.
The Crimson have made four appearances in the NCAA tournament: reaching the quarterfinals in 2018, the semifinals in 2021, the quarterfinals in 2023, and again in 2024.
Their 2021 semifinal run was the most recent time an Ivy League team reached the Final Four.
While the Atlantic Coast Conference has the most NCAA Division I championships, Princeton is the most decorated program in Ivy League history.
The Tigers have consistently made impressive postseason performances, including multiple semifinal and runner-up finishes, and their lone championship came in 2012 with a 3-2 victory over North Carolina.
Harvard’s success is part of a long-standing hockey tradition. While no single university introduced field hockey to the U.S., Harvard was the site where Constance M.K. Applebee first demonstrated the game in 1901 to a group of classmates during a summer course.
Applebee, a British physical educator, then toured other Eastern women’s colleges, helping popularize the sport across the country.
This season, the Crimson roster reflects a global influence, with 14 of 22 players coming from England, the Netherlands, and South Africa, showcasing the program’s international reach and recruiting efforts.
The Ivy League doesn’t offer athletic scholarships. They provide financial aid based solely on financial need.
With an historic undefeated start, Harvard is not just competing, but they’re making a statement in both the Ivy League and on the national Division I women’s college field hockey stage.
Ivy League NCAA Division I Final Four Appearances
Princeton: 9, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2009, 2012, 2016, 2018, and 2019
Current Ivy League Standings
Harvard, 3-0
Cornell, 2-1
Brown, 2-1
Princeton, 2-1
Yale, 1-2
Columbia, 1-2
Penn, 1-2
Dartmouth, 0-3
Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Sydney Madden is a student-intern at Penn State University.