NFHCA Top-10 Talk: Week 3

· Yahoo Sports

The top-10 in field hockey seems to continue to shape-shift itself into chaos deep into non-conference play. Last week, the dust seemed to settle around what the top half of the polls would be. This week, its clear that we are far from that being the truth.

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Get ready. These polls look wonky.

No. 1 Northwestern (7-0, B1G)

Movement: —

Last Week: 3-1 W vs. No. 11 Louisville, 2-0 W vs. No. 16 Miami (OH)

This Week: 3-1 W at Stanford, at No. 18 Cal

Juliana Boon had her best weekend in purple with 14 saves (notching a career-high seven in each game) en route to claiming Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Defense defined the weekend for the Wildcats, as momentum was nowhere to be found for either foe in Evanston. the Cardinals fell victim to transition offense on Friday, while Miami struggled to cross the 25 yard line at all on Sunday.

NU is still the measuring stick across the nation as the best all-around squad out there, but their Sunday opponent in Cal seems to provide it a great foil to test itself before conference play. Defensewoman Flore Uges claimed the national defensive player of the week award — the first ever Golden Bear to take away a national weekly honor. The pressure is mounting, and with the next team on this list rapidly gaining steam, one loss — or even one subpar performance in a win, for that matter — could eject the ‘Cats out the no. 1 spot.

No. 2 Iowa (6-0, B1G)

Movement: —

Last Week: 2-1 W vs. No. 16 Miami (OH), 4-2 W vs. No. 11 Louisville

This Week: vs. Indiana (twice — Friday: Big Ten opener; Sunday: non-conference)

For the Hawkeyes, this past weekend was defined by their prolific offense, powered by the best scoring duo in the nation: Frederique van Cleef and Dionne van Aalsum, no. 1 and no. 2 nationally in points.

The latter of the duo brought home the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Week honors with a trio of goals in the two contests over the weekend, two of which went down as game winners. All four scores against Louisville came courtesy of van Cleef and van Aalsum.

Iowa was tested hard against a stalwart Redhawk defense on Friday, who held it scoreless through the first 50 minutes of the contest. Miami’s two fatal mistakes came inside its own circle, allowing two penalty corners in the final 10 minutes of the game.

The Hawkeyes went 2-for-2 on those chances.

Good teams take advantage of mistakes, especially in the clutch. Iowa may be the best in the nation at doing that.

No. 3 Princeton (3-1, Ivy League)

Movement: +1

Last Week: 2-0 W vs. Rutgers, 2-1 W at Penn State

This Week: at Penn, at No. 10 UConn

The teams above split the player of the week awards in the Big Ten. On the Ivy League side of things, the Tigers hogged both for themselves.

Of Princeton’s four goals this weekend, three came from the stick of Pru Lindsey, who starred in the first two rounds of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. If there’s something to take away from this past weekend, it’s this: in the wake of Beth Yeager’s departure, Lindsey’s made a strong case to be Princeton’s new no. 1 option, scoring in three of its first four games of the season.

On the other end, the Tigers have the best scoring defense in the nation, as its defense has allowed a minute 0.23 goals per game. Much of that credit is due to Clem Houlden’s 120 minutes of work over the two games this past weekend, helping Princeton force its opponents to go 1-for-11 on its shots this weekend.

The next step for this team is adding a top-10 win to its resume. It saw its first opportunity slip in a shootout loss to then-No. 10 North Carolina at the beginning of the month, but with some more time to put itself together, now is the perfect time for the Huskies to welcome in the Tigers for a challenge.

No. 4 Wake Forest (4-1, ACC)

Movement: +2

Last Week: 7-0 W vs. VCU, 6-0 W at App State

This Week: vs. Delaware, at No. 5 Maryland

Wake Forest absolutely slammed its opponents this weekend and showed the nation they might be the team to beat in the ACC this season after UNC’s tumble in the polls. With a rising star like freshman Bianca Rees-Gibbs nailing five shots to the board this weekend, the Demon Deacons have every reason to believe that they’re the best team along the Atlantic coast.

Knowing what we know now about Iowa, the sole loss on the year for Wake Forest seems much more impressive than the four wins on its record thus far, I’d say. It’ll be an interesting two week stretch for the Deacs’, playing No. 5 Maryland on Sunday before taking on No. 8 Duke and No. 12 Syracuse to start ACC play. If they exit those games unblemished, then we’ll need to have some uncomfortable conversations about who is the best program in the conference.

No. 5 Maryland (7-0, 1-0 B1G)

Movement: +2

Last Week: 6-0 W vs. Towson, 5-0 W vs. Saint Joseph’s

This Week: 4-1 W at Penn State (Thursday), vs. Wake Forest

The Terps’ are off to their best start in years.

Since its dogfight against then-No. 6 Duke two weekends ago, Maryland has eviscerated opponent after opponent on its schedule on the offensive end, while its defense remains unforgiving. Its four goals allowed through the season’s first seven games is a program best since 2007.

Junior forward Babs van Hest has taken over on the attack, leading the team with 16 points (five goals, six assists), top five in the Big Ten. She’s done everything she can for the conference’s second leading scoring offense, and its paid dividends.

No. 6 UMass (6-0, MAC)

Movement: +6

Last Week: 3-1 W at No. 3 Harvard, 6-0 W vs. New Hampshire

This Week: vs. Ohio, at Albany

Here comes the Minutemen, skyrocketing to No. 6 after a dominant win over a 2025 Final Four participant a week ago today — a shock to the field hockey world. Every facet of the game seemed seamless for UMass: stellar PC defense, a deathly transition and a blistering attack that put 25 shots on target last weekend. As a result, it took home three of the four weekly MAC awards.

What’s even more impressive is that this effort is being led by forward Amber Fairon, who leads all freshmen across the nation with seven goals through the first six games of the year.

But in Amherst, experience complements youth. Graduate student Niamh McKenzie took home the conference’s co-offensive player of the week honors after logging six points over last weekend.

It’ll be hard for UMass to climb further up the polls after this weekend, barring some top-5 chaos, but it’ll be a good chance to shore up the offense as it starts MAC play.

No. 7 Harvard (3-1, Ivy League)

Movement: -4

Last Week: 1-3 L vs. No. 12 UMass, 2-0 W vs. Boston College

This Week: at Dartmouth, vs. Northeastern

Harvard was completely taken out of rhythm this weekend against the Minutemen and there’s one stat that exemplifies this to a tee: penalty corner percentage.

Zero. On 10 attempts.

The Crimson only managed three shots on goal and never seemed to work UMass on the defensive end. But, like I said, this can be chalked up as a blip on the radar. It may take a bit more time for this team to get its wits about itself. That’s what this weekend might be for.

Being thrown back-to-back top-15 opponents after the first game of the season is never fun and probably bound to go wrong somehow. Now, Harvard can take its time and work through its issues against a 1-2 Dartmouth team and a 1-4 Northeastern team before saddling up to face Princeton and Wake Forest in the near future.

No. 8 Duke (4-2, ACC)

Movement: +1

Last Week: 5-1 W vs. James Madison, 4-0 W vs. VCU

This Week: vs. No. 9 Virginia, vs. No. 4 Wake Forest

Nobody, and I mean no other team in the nation, has a tougher start to conference play than the Blue Devils. Getting back-to-back top-10 opponents on a random draw given to you by the conference is insanely brutal.

But enough pity. This is the time for Duke to rectify its shortcomings against Northwestern and Maryland two weekends ago. It’s had its time to find its pulse again, now its time to perform when the pressure’s on. An overtime loss and a loss in a shootout will always sting, but some comparable victories will make those losses sting a whole lot less.

The Blue Devlis leaned on Kyle Massey’s brace against JMU and Lily Soldan’s career-high four points against VCU to generate the momentum they needed heading into the start of ACC play this weekend. It wouldn’t surprise me if they take over again to help Duke rise back into top-5 consideration.

No. 9 Virginia (4-1, ACC)

Movement: +2

Last Week: 2-1 W at No. 13 Liberty, 7-0 W vs. James Madison

This Week: at No. 8 Duke, at No. 11 North Carolina

After a shocking loss to Ohio State, a ranked win on the road is exactly what the Cavaliers needed this past weekend, that’s great news. The bad news is that was the first ranked opponent in a stretch where Virginia plays five of them in a seven-game stretch.

But the team philosophy hasn’t changed. It’s all about spreading the wealth: six players have 4+ points on the season thus far and in a thrashing of the Dukes, six different Cavaliers found the board with shots throughout th contest.

UVA is all about economical field hockey. Not the flashiest, just smooth and consistent play.

No. 10 UConn (4-1, Big East)

Movement: —

Last Week: 4-3 (3-1 SO) W at No. 17 Rutgers

This Week: vs. Villanova, vs. No. 3 Princeton

We were treated to a thriller in Piscataway last Friday and UConn showed the grit it needed to prove that its a national title contender in 2026. In a back and forth “tug-of-war” contest, the Huskies stayed levelheaded when faced with disappointment at the end of regulation and had the resolve to lock it down until the shootout, where they pulled away.

Much like UMass, a statement win over national championship participant Princeton would launch this team into the top-5 — potentially the top-3 — and make it abundantly clear that UConn has taken a step up from where it was a season ago. The Huskies have looked good through their first five, but their biggest test of the year comes on Sunday.

Other Notable Movement

No. 11 North Carolina (—6), outside top 10 for the first time since 2002

No. 12 Syracuse (+3)

T-No. 13 Michigan (-5)

No. 15 Old Dominion (+5)

No. 18 Cal (unranked)

No. 20 Ohio State (unranked)

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