Iowa rises to No. 2 in latest Division I field hockey poll; Maryland makes biggest jump

Iowa continue to organize early, defeating higher ranked teams. Photo: Bob Benscoter

Only four NCAA Division I field hockey teams stayed in the same rankings as the previous week's poll, according to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.

The NFHCA poll is published on Tuesdays throughout the regular season and does not affect NCAA postseason selections. 

The week two poll brought plenty of movement, with only No. 1 Northwestern, No. 3 Harvard, No. 8 Michigan, and No. 16 Miami holding steady from week to week. 

The movement is a good indicator that, while the Ivy League is just getting started, talent is spread across the country and not concentrated among only a handful of programs. 

Iowa, which has not held a top-four ranking since Oct. 23, 2023, have grown together over the past three years. They’ve also added a handful of recruits the past three years, who have complimented the program’s momentum.  

Rachel Herbine, who played at Emmaus High School in Pennsylvania, for example, is a senior and has appeared in every game at Iowa since her freshman season.

The Hawkeyes have scored 24 goals and gave up five throughout four games in 2026.

Their roster includes 17 juniors, seniors and graduate students, making Iowa a much more experienced-heavy team than it was three years ago after a major recruiting year.

Compared to 2023, the roster then had a total of 23 players — before the 27 roster cap — and 10 of them were either a freshman or a sophomore.  

Of the 27 players on Iowa’s roster now, 14 are international athletes. 

Maryland field hockey made the biggest jump in week two. The Terrapins beat Boston College 2-0 on Friday in Newton, Massachusetts, then defeated then-No. 6 Duke 3-2 in a shootout. 

North Carolina stayed on home turf and swept the weekend with two wins. The Tar Heels beat Penn 7-0, then defeated Princeton 1-0 in a shootout, with freshman Sofia Ferri scoring the decisive goal. Princeton was previously ranked No. 2. 

According to the NFHCA, “the poll is intended to provide a weekly snapshot of the nation’s top-performing programs based on results, strength of competition, and insight from the sport’s coaching community. Beginning after the second week of regular-season competition, teams must maintain a .500 record or better to be eligible for ranking consideration. 

“These rankings reflect the collective assessment of the designated voting coaches each week and are designed to spotlight performance on a national scale. The Coaches Polls are independent of the NCAA Championship selection process and are not intended to predict or determine postseason qualification or seeding.” 

Here are the DI college field hockey teams with the most votes in the NFHCA week two coaches poll: 

20. Old Dominion, 3-1 (18)

19. Monmouth, 2-1 (17) 

18. Yale, 2-0 (19) 

17. Rutgers, 2-2 (20)

16. Miami, 2-1 (16)

15. Syracuse, 3-1 (12)

14. Louisville, 4-0 (15)

13. Liberty, 3-1 (14) 

12. Massachusetts, 4-0 (11)

11. Virginia, 2-1 (5)

10. Connecticut, 3-1 (9)

9. Duke, 2-2 (6)

8. Michigan, 3-1 (8)

7. Maryland, 4-0 (13)  

6. Wake Forest, 2-1 (7) 

5. North Carolina, 2-2 (10)

4. Princeton, 1-1, (2)

3. Harvard, 2-0 (3)

2. Iowa, 4-0 (4)

1. Northwestern, 4-0 (1)  

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