WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary head field hockey coach Tess Ellis announced a challenging 2026 schedule for the Tribe on Thursday. The 16-match slate includes four contests against teams that finished last year in the national top 20 and three NCAA Tournament teams.
 
W&M will play nine matches of its 16 contests at Busch Field in 2026. The program will face nine teams that won at least 12 matches last season. 
 
The Tribe plays a trio of scrimmages all at home to start the year. W&M hosts Richmond (Aug. 18 at 10 a.m.), Christopher Newport (Aug. 20 at 5 p.m.), and Old Dominion (Aug. 23 at 11 a.m.) for scrimmages during August.
 
W&M hits the road for the regular-season opener at ACC foe Duke on Friday, Aug. 28, at 5 p.m. The teams meet for the 40th time in the last 42 years and fifth-straight season since the COVID-shortened 2021 spring season.

The Tribe begins it home schedule against a pair of instate foes in Longwood on Sept. 4 and VCU on Sept. 6. W&M leads both series, holding a 25-20-4 advantage over the Lancers and a 57-14 cushion against the former CAA rival Rams.
 
The following week, the Green and Gold hits the road for a pair. W&M faces Patriot League foe American for the third-straight season on Sept. 11 in Washington, D.C. The Tribe meets Big East opponent Georgetown in a neutral site match at the University of Richmond on Sunday, Sept. 13. It will be the first meetings since a 4-1 victory for the Tribe in 2023.
 
W&M welcomes Richmond to Williamsburg on Sunday, Sept. 20. It is the most played series in program history with the Tribe holding a 51-33-11 advantage over the Spiders. It will be a homecoming of sorts for the Richmond coaching staff as Spiders' head coach Martu Loncarica is a former Tribe assistant and UR assistant coach Erin Menges graduated from W&M and was two-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year.
 
The Tribe opens the CAA portion of the schedule on the road at Northeastern on Friday, Sept. 25. The Huskies hold a slim 15-12 advantage in the all-time series.
 
The Green and Gold will have three CAA matches at home in 2026, beginning with Towson on Friday, Oct. 2. The Green and Gold also welcomes CAA newcomer Fairfield to Williamsburg on Oct. 9, before wrapping up the regular season at home in league play against defending league champion Drexel.
 
Both Fairfield, who joined the CAA prior to this season as an associate member in field hockey, and Drexel played in the NCAA Tournament last season. The Stags won the NEC Championship in 2025 and claimed its opening round NCAA Tournament match over Boston University on the way to finishing with 16 wins.
 
The Tribe's CAA road slate includes trips to Monmouth on Friday, Oct. 16, and Hofstra on Friday, Oct. 23.
 
The remainder of the Tribe's nonconference slate includes three home matches and one road trip. W&M hosts a pair of instate foes in Old Dominion on Sept. 28 and James Madison on Oct. 4. Outside of the 2021 COVID spring season, the Tribe and Monarchs have met every year since 1973 and 77 times overall. W&M and JMU meet for the 88th time this season.
 
W&M hosts Bellarmine for the first meeting between the programs on Sunday, Oct. 11. The Tribe's final nonconference match of the season comes at Patriot League foe Lafayette on Sunday, Oct. 18. Last season, W&M won a thriller over the Leopards, scoring twice in the final 2:04 to post a 2-1 win in Williamsburg.

Drexel will host the CAA Championship, Nov. 4-6, in Philadelphia, Pa., as the top four finishers in the league standings qualify for the tournament.