What to Watch For (October 24-26 edition)

As the regular season winds down we have a lot of key matchups. Let's take a look at the top three games happening this weekend.

3.) #8 Virginia at #14 Boston College (Friday)
Boston College has had a crazy number of upsets this season and has had a truly absurd number of overtime games and heartbreaks. With a team like Virginia heading their way, how could you not get excited about this game? Virginia has a powerful offense led by Tara Vittese, who is a freshman with 15 goals already this season. And on the other end, Boston College has managed to make an absurd number of games go into overtime with plenty of comebacks and great team play. Don't be surprised if the Eagles get an upset here at home.

2.) #4 Penn State at #15 Iowa (Saturday)
I wrote earlier this week that Iowa was the biggest loser (of the power teams). No better way to change that then taking on the second hottest team in the Big 10 this year. The hawkeyes already beat Virginia at home this year, so the upset is possible. Look for Penn State to be ready though, as they have looked strong in recent weeks. Regardless of who wins, this is going to be a great game.

#6 Duke at #10 Syracuse (Saturday)
The only top 10 matchup of the weekend looks to be a great game. Both teams have proven at times that they are elite teams, but neither of them have shined in conference play. Duke is 2-3 in the ACC and Syracuse is 1-4. Both teams need a big win here to help them have momentum heading into conference play. This is the last big game of the season for both teams, so look for an exciting matchup in New York on Saturday.

Honorable mention games: Friday- Temple at Georgetown, Michigan State at Michigan, Cal at Stanford. Saturday- Wake Forest at North Carolina. Sunday- Louisville at Indiana.

What To Watch For (October 10-12 edition)

Last weekend saw a lot of great teams face each other and a lot of games going into overtime. Now that October is in full swing we have another great slate of games for this weekend. But who is playing who and what games are the biggest? Let's look at the top three.

3) #5 Louisville at #13 Syracuse (Saturday)
The cardinals have been shooting up the charts each week and are now sitting pretty at #5. This is the first time that Louisville has entered the top 5 since 2002 and they look to stay there. They certainly have the impressive resume to be worthy of #5, however most of their big wins have come at home. Traveling on the road to Syracuse is a tough test for #5, but it should bring us great hockey. Syracuse is no slacker either and had a brutal end to september playing three top 11 teams in the span of 8 days.

2) #7 Stanford at #8 Northwestern (Friday)
Last Sunday, Northwestern got the chance to knock off then #7 Iowa in Iowa with an impressive 3-1 victory. Tonight they will get another shot at knocking off the #7 team when they take on Stanford in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Currently both teams are riding six game winning streaks, which makes this game even more exiting because one team has to lose tonight. this is Stanford's last big weekend in the regular season, so the cardinal is going to need to make a statement on Friday night.

1) #4 Penn State at #2 Maryland (Friday)
It still feels a bit weird to see Maryland in Big 10 play, but seeing them playing against the top teams is not unusual at all. Penn State is sitting at #4 this week and has a record of 10-2. The Nittany Lions only losses have come to ranked teams in overtime so clearly they are ready for a huge matchup with the #2 team in the country, Maryland. The home side Maryland has faced eight ranked sides already this season and has been impressive all season long. This may not have the excitement of a 1 vs 2 matchup, but there is definitely going to be an amazing atmosphere in College Park this afternoon. For those that have the Big 10 network and Big 10 to go, the game will be available at 3:30 pm today.

Honorable mentions this week: Friday- Old Dominion at Connecticut, Michigan at Iowa, Boston College at Duke. Saturday- Michigan State at Indiana. Sunday- Wake Forest at Virginia, Connecticut at Boston U.

What to watch for (October 3-5 weekend)

Another exciting weekend of college field hockey is finally almost here.  Last weekend brought us huge games and we saw teams fall and team rise.  What will this weekend bring?  Let us start by looking at the top three games to watch for!

3) #11 Northwestern at #7 Iowa-Sunday
Both of these teams have been sneaky good all season long so look for this to be a sneaky good game. This is the Northwestern team that beat Maryland earlier in the season and took Connecticut to overtime, and Iowa is strong too.  Look for this to be the best game on Sunday.

2) #4 Duke at #12 Louisville-Friday
Duke has been steadily lurking in the rankings for weeks now with their only loss coming against Virginia. This game will prove to be a big test for them heading on the road to face another ranked team.  A win for Duke will solidify their top 5 ranking.  Louisville is coming off of a loss to Liberty and a win over a top 5 team will boost their confidence and set them on the right track with other ranked opponents coming up.

1) #3 Virginia at #1 North Carolina-Friday
Brutal schedule for North Carolina.  Last weekend they played Boston College and Connecticut and now they play Virginia? Regardless, this is going to be a great game and the high scoring Virginia offense looks to be tested by the tar heels defense.

Now we just have to wait for the games to get here. What do you think the biggest games are?

What to watch for on Friday (9/26/14)

This Friday is a huge night in NCAA field hockey.  Some of the top teams in the country are facing off against each other in conference play.  But who is playing and what games are the biggest? Well let's take a look at the top three games of the night.

3.) #10 Syracuse at #3 Virginia: Friday night ACC field hockey with two teams heading in opposite directions.  Virginia is on a roll with six straight wins and three of them coming over currently ranked squads.  Syracuse on the other hand has had a brutal last two games with a 3-0 loss at North Carolina and a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss at home against Boston College.  Despite recent results, both teams are incredibly strong and this game could go either way.  Look for a great game in Charlottesville on Friday

2.) #9 Stanford at #2 Connecticut: Two top 10 teams playing in a late non-conference matchup.  Both teams are heading into this matchup needing signature wins from this game but only one can win.  Stanford will probably not face another top 10 team in the regular season and UCONN needs a win over a ranked opponent after losing to Boston College earlier.  Bottom line is that both of these programs would be thrilled to win this game so they are both going to come prepared.

1.) #1 North Carolina at #6 Boston College: This matchup is huge plain and simple.  Boston College is coming off of a historic week in the history of their program and would love to keep the momentum going against #1 North Carolina.  UNC lost to Louisville last week and is looking to prove that they are truly the top team.

Honorable Mention: #4 Maryland at #14 Michigan, #17 Indiana at #8 Iowa, and #11 Louisville at #16 Wake Forest.