CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Another chapter for Harvard field hockey is finally here, as the third ranked Crimson play host to UMass Lowell and No. 9 UConn at Berylson Field to kick-off the 2026 campaign.

The season opener against UMass Lowell arrives on Friday, Sept. 4, as the Crimson and River Hawks will square off at 4 p.m. Harvard then wraps up the opening weekend at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6 with a showdown against the Huskies. Both matches will air live on ESPN+ and admission to Berylson Field is free of charge.

CRIMSON UPDATES

• Harvard field hockey made history last season, as the Crimson advanced to the NCAA Tournament Semifinals for just the second time in school history and set a new program record for wins in a single season with a 19-2 record. Harvard also went undefeated in regular season action in 2025, as the Crimson have won 19-straight regular season contests heading into the new year.
• The Crimson enter the 2026 season as the defending Ivy League regular season champions, as last season saw Harvard go undefeated in conference action for just the sixth time in school history.
• Plenty of experience returns to the pitch this season for Harvard, as eight starters from Harvard's 2025 NCAA Tournament Semifinal clash against Princeton return to Cambridge for the 2026 campaign.
• In the Ivy League Preseason Poll, Harvard slotted into the top spot with 10 first place votes, edging out Princeton in second place by four points.
• Over the summer, a trio of Crimson standouts represented their countries at high-level international competitions and development camps. Junior midfielder Tilly Butterworth and first-year forward Evie Smith competed with England at the 2026 U21 EuroHockey Championships in Valencia, Spain, while sophomore defender Brooke Chandler received a call up to train with the U21 New Zealand national team.
• Harvard's captains this season are Butterworth and senior midfielder Lara Beekhuis. Beekhuis and Butterworth combined for 16 goals, seven assists and 39 points over the course of the 2025 season.
• Head coach Tjerk van Herwaarden is entering his 13^th season with the Crimson. A four-time Ivy League Coach of the Year, van Herwaarden owns a 166-69 record at the helm of Harvard field hockey.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

• UMass Lowell is 1-1 to start the 2026 season, splitting a pair of matches out west in California. The River Hawks fell short in a 2-1 defeat against Stanford on opening day, as UMass Lowell rebounded with a 3-1 victory against UC Davis to conclude its time in the Golden State.
• The 2025 season saw UMass Lowell finish with an 8-10 record, falling to Maine in the America East Tournament Quarterfinals.
• UConn picked up a pair of wins on opening weekend, shutting out New Hampshire, 5-0, for the first win and breezing past No. 20 Saint Joseph's, 4-1, to close out its opening weekend.
• A perennial threat on the field hockey pitch, UConn went 12-9 last season, advancing to the 2025 NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Crimson lead the all-time series against UMass Lowell, 8-0, outscoring the River Hawks, 11-2, across the last three meetings.
• Last season saw Harvard defeat UMass Lowell on the road, 5-1, as five different Crimson found the back of the net.
• Friday's contest represents the earliest meeting in the series history between Harvard and UMass Lowell, as it will be first matchup to take place in September since 2015.
• UConn leads the all-time history against Harvard, 8-28-2, as the Crimson is maintaining a four-game winning streak against the Huskies.
• The 2025 campaign saw Harvard and UConn meet twice, as the Crimson posted a shutout in both meetings. The first matchup saw Harvard earn a 2-0 win in the regular season thanks to goals from Beekhuis and junior forward Martha le Huray. The two programs met again in the 2025 NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals, as a goal from le Huray sent Harvard to the NCAA Tournament Semifinals for only the second time in program history.
• Excluding last season's postseason showdown, Harvard and UConn have met in the month of September in every match dating back to the 1987 season.

ON THE ATTACK

• A key for the Crimson attack is experience, as Harvard returns its top three goal scorers from the 2025 season.
• Senior forward Sage Piekarski, le Huray and Beekhuis all return after netting career-highs in both points and goals last season.
• Harvard returns 53 goals scored from last season, the highest tally in the Ivy League heading into the 2026 season.

WELCOME BACK ALL-AMERICANS

• The 2025 season saw a program record five Crimson earn All-America status from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association, as a trio return to the lineup this season.
• Piekarski, le Huray and sophomore goalkeeper Linde Burger are all looking to become just a select few student-athletes in school history to earn All-America honors multiple times.
• Harvard is tied with Northwestern for the most returning All-Americans in the nation this season.

BETWEEN THE POSTS

• Burger is looking build off a remarkable freshman season.
• In her first season minding the net for Harvard, Burger garnered Ivy League Rookie of the Year and NFHCA All-America Third Team honors after leading the nation in goals against average (0.70) and ranking 10^th in save percentage (0.769).
• A native of Heerhugowaard, Netherlands, Burger posted nine shutouts last season, just one shy of matching the program record of 10 shutouts set by Ellie Shahbo '22 during the 2021 season.

POLL POSITION

• Harvard started the season at No. 4 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA National Coaches Poll, which represents the highest preseason ranking in school history. This week saw Harvard move up to No. 3, matching the highest ranking in school history. 
• The Crimson have now spent 11 consecutive weeks inside the top five of the Penn Monto/NFHCA National Coaches Poll, the longest streak in school history and the longest active streak in the Ivy League.
• Harvard is only one of three Ancient Eight sides ranked in the top 20, joining Princeton (No. 3) and Yale (No. 16). The Crimson's 2026 schedule features seven ranked programs in the preseason poll, No. 3 Princeton, No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 9 Syracuse, No. 11 UConn, No. 15 UMass, No. 16 Yale and No. 18 Monmouth.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

• Dating back to the 2016 season, Harvard is maintaining a 95-game winning streak against unranked foes.
• The last loss against an unranked opponent arrived on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, a 3-1 defeat against UMass.
• During the 2025 season, Harvard went 9-0 against unranked teams.

UP NEXT

Two more matches at Berylson Field arrive next weekend for Harvard, both against local opposition. UMass arrives to Cambridge for a 3:30 p.m. showdown on Friday, Sept. 11, as the Crimson then play host to Boston College on Sunday, Sept. 13 with a start time scheduled for 1 p.m. Both matches will air live on ESPN+ as admission to Berylson Field is free of charge.

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