WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — After reaching the NCAA Division III Tournament in each of the last four years, the Williams College field hockey program is carrying a tremendous amount of momentum into the 2026 season and the team is excited to announce its 2026 schedule.
"Our schedule features exceptional opponents and will require us to compete at a high level from start to finish," said head coach
Alix Barrale. "Our team is eager to get to work and see how far our commitment, toughness and connection can take us."
The Ephs, who competed in the program's first-ever Final Four in 2022 and repeated the feat again during 2024, will compete in 15 regular-season games, 10 NESCAC contests and seven events at Williamson Field. The 2026 journey begins with a noon NESCAC game against Bates on Sunday, Sept. 6, at Williamson Field. Williams fell, 2-1, at Bates during the last meeting on Oct. 4, 2025, as the Bobcats won their first-ever NESCAC Championship last season.
Williams won 10 straight games against Bates from 2012-21, but the rivalry has been closely contested over the last four years. All five games have been decided by one goal, the Bobcats have won three times and the Ephs emerged victorious in a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory with two goals in the final eight minutes, 38 seconds during the 2023 NESCAC Semifinals.
The Ephs will test themselves with strong non-conference opponents, hosting Babson on Thursday, Sept. 10, at 6:30 p.m., and then traveling to defending national runner-up Johns Hopkins on Sunday, Oct. 11, for a noon start in Baltimore. Williams and Babson have competed against each other in four consecutive seasons with all games being decided by one goal and the last two progressing into overtime. Williams won in 2022 and 2024 and Babson emerged victorious during 2023 and 2025.
The Ephs welcome Little Three-rival Amherst to Williamson Field for an 11:30 a.m. showdown on Saturday, Sept. 26. Williams has won four consecutive games against the Mammoths, with the last three being shutouts. The teams met in the 2022 NESCAC Quarterfinals in Amherst, Massachusetts, and the Ephs emerged victorious, 2-1, with the game-winning goal scored with 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Ephs end their regular-season schedule with four consecutive NESCAC games. Williams travels to Wesleyan on Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. and Middlebury on Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m., and hosts Hamilton on Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. and Tufts on Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. The top-eight teams in the conference qualify for the 2026 NESCAC Tournament, as quarterfinal-round action takes place on Oct. 31 at the higher seed. The highest remaining seed hosts the semifinal and final rounds on Nov. 7-8.
