UMass field hockey enters the top 10, conference play starts this weekend, 15 teams changed rank: NFHCA Week 3

Six ranked teams remain unbeaten in the Week 3 NFHCA poll. Photo: UMass Athletics

Three weeks into the NCAA Division I field hockey season, only six ranked teams are still perfect — and the latest national poll reflects just how quickly the landscape is shifting. 

Northwestern, Iowa, Maryland and Massachusetts all sit at 6-0, with Maryland climbing one spot in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll and UMass making the week’s biggest move, jumping from No. 12 to No. 6. 

The NFHCA poll is released each Tuesday during the collegiate field hockey season.  

California-Berkeley also crashed into the rankings. The Bears, now 5-0 after being unranked in Week 2, earned a significant win on Sept. 11 with a 1-0 upset of then-No. 8 Michigan. 

And, Yale is holding strong with a clean record of 4-0. Yale faces Brown on Friday, Sept. 18 in the team’s first Ivy League Conference game of the 2026 campaign.

Massachusetts has been one of the fastest risers so far this season. The Minutewomen opened at No. 15 and have surged behind a pair of statement wins: a 3-2 victory over then-No. 8 Liberty, followed by a 3-1 win against then-No. 3 Harvard. 

Jenna Herbster, who scored her first collegiate goal, was among the trio to score against the Crimson.

In all, 15 of the top 20 teams moved either up or down in this week’s poll.  

Ohio State entered at No. 20 after winning three straight, including a 2-1 upset of higher-ranked Virginia behind two goals from Sienna Golden. 

North Carolina dropped five spots to No. 11 after falling 5-4 to Old Dominion, which jumped five spots north. Michigan also went down in the ranks to No. 13 after losing to Cal-Berkeley.

Maryland has started the season with four shutouts. And, a strong overtime finish against then-No. 6 Duke to take the win with a score of 3-2.

While not ranked, Stanford also remains unbeaten with a 6-0 record. They host Northwestern Thursday evening on the West Coast.

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 three coaches poll: 

20. Ohio State, 4-2 (Unranked)   

19. Monmouth, 4-1, 19  

18. California-Berkeley, 5-0 (Unranked)   

17. Yale, 4-0 (18)  

16. Louisville, 4-2 (14)  

15. Old Dominion, 4-1 (20)  

13. Michigan, 3-2 (8)   

13. Liberty, 4-2 (13)  

12. Syracuse, 4-1 (15)  

11. North Carolina, 3-3 (5)  

10. Connecticut, 4-1 (10)  

9. Virginia, 4-1 (11)  

8. Duke, 4-2 (9)  

7. Harvard, 3-1 (3)  

6. Massachusetts, 6-0 (12)   

5. Maryland, 6-0 (7)  

4. Wake Forest, 4-1 (6)  

3. Princeton, 3-1 (4)  

2. Iowa, 6-0 (2)  

1. Northwestern, 6-0 (1) 

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