Field Hockey Announces 2026 Slate

EVANSTON, Ill. - Back-to-back National Champions Northwestern field hockey has announced its 2026 schedule, featuring eight regular-season home games. The Wildcats will open the season at home on Aug. 28 at Lakeside Field in Evanston.

NU will play a total of 18 regular-season games, including eight against Big Ten foes. Coming off back-to-back national championships and winning both the conference regular-season and tournament crowns, the 'Cats look onward to attacking their 2026 slate.

The 2026 schedule is here. ?????

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— Northwestern Field Hockey (@NUFHCats) June 12, 2026

Northwestern is slated to host VCU and Lafayette in its opening weekend in late August, before heading to Boston to meet Duke and Boston College. The 'Cats will return home for two more non-conference games, taking on Louisville and Miami at Lakeside Field. NU will then make a trip to the West Coast, matching up against Stanford, Cal and UC Davis, Sept. 17-20.

The Wildcats will begin Big Ten play back in Evanston, welcoming Michigan State on Sept. 25. Then, NU will visit Ohio State and Michigan, before hosting Iowa on Oct. 9. The 'Cats will meet Princeton on the road in a rematch of the 2025 title game on Oct. 11, before visiting Indiana. Northwestern will round out its home slate on Oct. 22 and Oct. 25, taking on Maryland and Rutgers in Evanston. The 'Cats will close their regular-season slate in Happy Valley, facing Penn State on Oct. 30.

The 2026 Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament will be held in Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 5-8. The First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Tournament will take place Nov. 13-15, with the Championship weekend in Louisville, Ky., scheduled for Nov. 20-22.

Led by the national coaching staff of the year (third consecutive season) in Tracey Fuchs, Georgia Holland and Will Byrne, Northwestern has qualified for seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments and made five-straight trips to the National Championship game. The Wildcats' 2025 campaign, the 51st season of Northwestern Field Hockey, marked the program's first title sweep (Big Ten Regular-season, Big Ten Tournament, NCAA Tournament), and capped off the season with a thrilling 2-1 double-overtime victory over Princeton in the National Championship.

Admission to all regular-season home games is free for all fans.

2026 Northwestern Field Hockey Schedule
(Home games in bold, * indicates conference game)

Date	Day	Opponent	Location
Aug. 15	Saturday	at Michigan (Scrimmage)	Ann Arbor, Mich.
Aug. 22	Saturday	vs Iowa (Scrimmage)	Evanston, Ill.
Aug. 28	Friday	vs VCU	Evanston, Ill.
Aug. 30	Sunday	vs Lafayette	Evanston, Ill.
Sept. 4	Friday	vs Duke	@ Boston (Chestnut Hill, Mass.)
Sept. 6	Sunday	at BC	Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Sept. 11	Friday	vs Louisville	Evanston, Ill.
Sept. 13	Sunday	vs Miami (OH)	Evanston, Ill.
Sept. 17	Thursday	at Stanford	Palo Alto, Calif.
Sept. 19	Saturday	vs California	@ Davis (Davis, Calif.)
Sept. 20	Sunday	at UC Davis	Davis, Calif.
Sept. 25	Friday	vs Michigan St*	Evanston, Ill.
Oct. 2	Friday	at Ohio State*	Columbus, Ohio
Oct. 4	Sunday	at Michigan*	Ann Arbor, Mich.
Oct. 9	Friday	vs Iowa*	Evanston, Ill.
Oct. 11	Sunday	at Princeton	Princeton, N.J.
Oct. 16	Friday	at Indiana*	Bloomington, Ind.
Oct. 22	Thursday	vs Maryland*	Evanston, Ill.
Oct. 25	Sunday (Senior Day)	vs Rutgers*	Evanston, Ill.
Oct. 30	Friday	at Penn St*	University Park, Pa.
Nov. 5-8		Big Ten Tournament	Columbus, Ohio
Nov. 13-15		NCAA 1st/2nd Round	TBD
Nov. 20-22		NCAA Championship	Louisville, Ky.

Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern University Athletics

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