CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 5 Virginia field hockey team opens the 2026 season on the road against Penn State on Friday (Aug. 28), with the contest being played at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex.
HOW TO WATCH
Live Coverage of Friday’s game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus. Links to the live stream and live stats are available at VirginiaSports.com. Updates will also be posted to the team’s official X account (@UVAFieldHockey).
MATCH NOTES
- Virginia is ranked No. 5 in the NFHCA Preseason Poll.
- UVA has been ranked in the top 10 of the NFHCA poll since the Week 1 poll of the 2022 season.
- The Cavaliers posted a 16-3 record in 2025 and shared the ACC Regular Season title before falling in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
- Virginia’s 2026 squad is led by the Preseason All-ACC trio of Mia Abello, Mary Adams and Nilou Lempers.
- The Cavaliers and Nittany Lions have played each other on opening weekend every year since 2009. (Except for the pandemic season of 2020-21)
- Virginia won last year’s meeting 5-1 in Charlottesville when UVA was ranked No. 3 and Penn State No. 18.
ON THE HORIZON
UVA will continue its four-game season-opening road swing against Rutgers (Sept. 4) and Ohio State (Sept. 6) as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in New Brunswick, N.J., before concluding the road trip at Liberty (Sept. 11). Virginia’s home opener is slated for Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. against James Madison on Turf Field.