WHO: Old Dominion (0-0) at Ohio State (0-0) / vs Bellarmine (0-0)
WHEN: Friday, Aug. 28 / Saturday, Aug. 29 – 4 p.m. / 3 p.m.
WHERE: Columbus, Ohio – Buckeye Varsity Field
LAST MEETING: Sept. 15, 2024, L, 2-1 / First meeting
STREAM: Here
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion field hockey opens the 2026 season this weekend against Ohio State on Friday, Aug. 28, and Bellarmine on Saturday, Aug. 29, in Columbus, Ohio, at Buckeye Varsity Field.
The games will begin at 4 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. Live stats will be available for both games and the broadcast will be on BIG Ten+.
The Monarchs and Buckeyes last met in 2024, when ODU fell 2-1 in regulation. Saturday's matchup will be the first meeting between Old Dominion and Bellarmine.
ABOUT ODU
Old Dominion returns 15 players from last season, including eight starters, while welcoming seven newcomers, including five first-year players and two transfers. Andrew Griffiths enters his 14th season at the helm of the Monarchs and owns a 139-96 all-time record at Old Dominion. During the offseason, Griffiths added Daan Polders to the coaching staff as an assistant coach.
The Monarchs were picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll after falling to UConn in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals last season. Josie Painter and Serena Langendoen were also selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.
Langendoen returns as one of the Monarchs’ top three scorers from last season after recording 15 points on seven goals and one assist. Painter also returns as one of ODU’s top scorers after tallying 12 points on six goals. In goal, Suus Broers returns after recording 64 last season, notching 166 career saves.
ABOUT OSU
Ohio State finished the 2025 season with an 8-10 record after falling to Iowa, 3-1, in the Big Ten semifinals. The Buckeyes brought back 16 players from the 2025 season and welcomed 10 newcomers in 2026. In all, Ohio State returned 10 players who appeared in at least 15 games last season.
OSU's Maddie Stevens returns for her second season in goal. In 2025, she played in all 18 games and finished the year with a 1.76 goals-against average, a .656 save percentage, and a 7-7 record and five shutouts. Ohio State also returns two of its top-four point scorers from 2025 in Raliegh Kerst and Anne Marie Krebs. Krebs earned NFHCA Second Team All-West Region honors after recording eight points, while Kerst tallied nine points in her rookie season.
ABOUT BELLARMINE
The Knights finished the 2025 season with a 2-15 record. Bellarmine enters its second season under head coach Toby Platt. The Knights return 16 players from last season and welcome nine newcomers, including one transfer.
Bellarmine returns an experienced defensive group led by fourth years Reilly Casey and Dominique Hudson, who started all 18 games last season. The Knights will have a new primary goalkeeper following the graduation of Kailey Workman, who finished her career second in program history with 370 saves. Third year Megan Clauser and first year Martha Hoefer will compete for the starting role.
UP NEXT
The Monarchs travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on Princeton on Friday, Sept. 4, and Penn on Sunday, Sept. 6, at UNC’s Karen Shelton Stadium.