Weekend Games to Watch: Division I & III Season Opener

Each week, USA Field Hockey highlights upcoming college games to watch. This weekend marks the start of the Division I and Division III season.

Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics

No. 1 Northwestern opens up their 2024 season with a home game against University of Maine.

Northwestern comes into the season ranked first overall in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. The Wildcats are slated to have a strong offensive presence, especially with an attacking line that includes Maddie Zimmer, Ashley Sessa, and Olivia Bent-Cole. Shifting to the defensive end, Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Annabel Skubisz returns in cage as a graduate student. This Friday, look for the Wildcats to come out fast and hard – kicking off a season where they will settle for nothing less than a national championship title.

The University of Maine looks to start off their 2024 campaign with a win after going 8-12 in 2023. The Black Bears have brought in four graduate student transfers and three freshmen – a group with international flair – to strengthen their ranks. Maine returns goalkeeper Jayde Temby, who recorded a .657 save percentage last season, and America East Preseason All-Conference selection Poppy Lambert.

When these two teams last met in September of 2023, the Wildcats secured a 3-0 victory over the Black Bears. Northwestern’s Bent-Cole was a standout in the match, netting an unassisted goal in the fourth quarter after assisting Lane Herbert in the third.

Heratch Ekmekjian

In a Beantown battle, the No. 17 Boston College Eagles and the unranked Northeastern Huskies open the season in their home state of Massachusetts.

A strong team stuck in the throes of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Boston College hopes to find themselves back with another winning record this season. The Eagles finished 11-7 last fall, suffering several overtime losses to teams like Northwestern, Virginia, and Duke. They will look to junior Martina Giacchino and Preseason All-ACC Team selections Eva Kluskens and Peyton Hale in the offensive circle.

Northeastern went 8-10 last fall and is looking to start their 2024 campaign in the win column. Captains Lauren Rowe and Carolyn Sweeney will help lead the Huskies defense, while All-Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Preseason selections Mak Graves and Lara Taylor return to aid the attack. Rowe, the reigning CAA Defender of the Year, was also chosen for the All-CAA Preseason team.

Last October, the two battled it out in an extremely intense match that ended with a 4-3 victory for Boston College. After the Eagles tallied three straight goals in the first half, the Huskies looked to come back with three of their own, tying the match with 10 minutes remaining. A goal in the final minute from Mia Garber, a returning junior, sealed the victory for Boston College.

Rachel Klotz/Louisville Athletics

No. 4 Maryland and No. 7 Louisville will start their 2024 campaigns with a top ten matchup.

The Maryland Terps look to take the victory this Friday in their home opener against the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals. In recent years, Maryland has found success in the first few games of the season, ultimately leading to a 17-6 record last fall. Hope Rose and Maci Bradford return for the Terps, two athletes who generated much of the offense last season with a combined 53 points. The Louisville attack will have to be creative to get the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko, who finished 2023 with a .838 goal save percentage and is very confident in the cage.

The Cardinals went 15-7(3-3 ACC) and finished tenth nationally in 2023. Similar to Maryland, Louisville is a team that starts their season out hot – having won their first six games for the past five years, including against Northwestern in their second match last fall. Two-time All-American selection and four-time All-Region selection Aimee Plumb returns for her fifth year at Louisville after leading her team in points (18) last fall. The Cardinals also welcome back Rylie Wollerton and Izzy Bianco, both member of the U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team, and Mia Duchars.

Although these teams haven’t competed against one another in several years, their styles of play will work well against one another and should make for a very competitive matchup. The last time these two teams met was back in 2017, where the Terps won 1-0.

Lycoming Athletics

It’s an exciting matchup between the Lycoming Warriors and the Penn State Harrisburg Nittany Lions on Saturday afternoon.

Penn State Harrisburg is playing with house money this season, as they will be making their debut as a varsity NCAA program against Lycoming. The Nittany Lions are under the direction of Head Coach Amanda Janney Misselhorn, who has 14 years of Division I experience as a coach at Indiana and Temple. This squad consists of 18 athletes, including three transfers representing all three divisions – Bailey Ruckey from Stevenson University, Natalie Rocuskie from Wagner College, and goalkeeper Macenzie Mulholland from Shippensburg University. Sophomore Maggie Kutz, who appeared in a USA Field Hockey Athlete Spotlight this past December, will continue her PSU Harrisburg playing career after joining the team last fall.

After finishing 4-12 in 2023, Lycoming looks to come out strong to the start their season. The Warriors will play Cedar Crest to open their season on Friday – a team they defeated 2-1 in overtime last year – and follow up on Sunday with a matchup against the Nittany Lions. Lycoming welcomes in ten promising freshmen this season, four of whom are forwards, in an effort to continue to generate offensive chances. Last fall, the Warriors set a school record for most goals in a season with 25.

Expect to see high energy and intense competition in this Saturday afternoon contest.

Lee Kotzen

No. 10 Rowan will kick off their 2024 campaign the same way they have for the past seven seasons – with a game against Ursinus. In last year’s matchup, the Profs narrowly defeated the Bears, 1-0, after scoring in the third quarter. This year, Rowan will make the short trip to Collegeville, Pa. in hopes of getting their sixth consecutive starting win against Ursinus.

Rowan is looking to rekindle the magic after a breakout season in 2022 that ended in the NCAA semifinal. The reigning New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) champions welcome in two strong transfers – Allie Palumbo, Stockton’s leading scorer in 2023, and Alexa Ronning from Monmouth. The Profs will also see the return of their defensive unit, including 2023 NJAC All-Conference honoree Tess Herman.

The Bears finished their 2023 season 10-8, with half of their losses coming from ranked teams. Picked to finish fifth in the Centennial Conference Preseason Poll, Ursinus will return two 2023 All-Region Second Team selections in seniors Mary Lauren Franz and Maeve Montgomery.

Jeffrey A. Camarati

As part of the ACC/B1G Challenge, No. 6 Iowa and No. 2 North Carolina will clash at Michigan’s Phyllis Ocker Field on Sunday morning.

It’s always a good time when an ACC giant meets up with a B1G powerhouse. Last season, when the pair met up in this same matchup, it was Iowa who was able to hand North Carolina a rare loss – 3-2 in overtime. Despite the early season loss, the Tar Heels went on to have a 18-3 record and claim their second consecutive NCAA title. Iowa finished out 13-6, falling to Louisville 2-1 in overtime in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

As always, North Carolina is threatening with a stacked group of athletes, including ACC All-Preseason Team selections Ryleigh Heck, Sietske Brüning and Katie Dixon. Iowa boasts three on the B1G Players to Watch list – Milly Short, goalkeeper Mia Magnotta, and All-American Dionne van Aalsum.

North Carolina leads 5-32 in all time matchups.