Penn State field hockey begins its 2026 Big Ten Tournament campaign on Wednesday. The Nittany Lions will try to capture their first Big Ten Tournament championship in the Hannah Prince era and their first since 2016.

Penn State finished the regular season 12-5 overall and 6-2 in conference play, earning the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Nittany Lions’ first-round opponent is No. 6 Iowa (12-3, 4-3 Big Ten), one of Penn State’s two Big Ten losses this season.

The contest with Iowa late in the regular season was one the Nittany Lions would like to have back. Despite playing lockdown defense for most of the 60 minutes, including four saves from goalie Aby Deverka, Iowa finally broke through late in regulation to win 1-0.

The Nittany Lions bounced back from the loss in the best way possible, however, taking down No. 1 Northwestern 2-0.

The win marked Penn State field hockey’s second victory over a No. 1 opponent, the first coming in a 2002 national semifinal against Old Dominion. Cooper Cutchins netted the crucial goal in the third quarter off a rebound from an Ella Gaitan shot.

Now, riding the upset wave into the first round, the Nittany Lions face a tough rematch with the Hawkeyes.

Iowa features some of the nation’s best scorers. Frederique van Cleef and Dionne van Aalsum are a pair of forwards who have both taken home Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors this season. Both players also rank in the top 10 nationally in goals and points per game.

If Penn State can take care of business against Iowa, it will face the winner of No. 2 Maryland and No. 7 Ohio State.

The Nittany Lions fell to the No. 5 Terrapins 4-1 at home in September, thanks to four Maryland goals from four different players, including senior forward Maci Bradford.

Bradford has finished the regular season in top form, leading the Big Ten in assists and tallying two goals and two assists in the regular-season finale against Iowa. Maryland clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship with the win, alongside Northwestern.

Penn State is no stranger to a close game against Ohio State if the Buckeyes advance. The Nittany Lions beat the Buckeyes in a 4-3 shootout, with Lara Pyle scoring the winning goal.

Ohio State’s Sienna Golden scored in the game against the Nittany Lions and has been the Buckeyes primary offensive threat all season, leading the team with six goals and 12 points.

If the Nittany Lions can win in the quarterfinals and semifinals, it will play for the Big Ten championship on November 8.

There, they’ll likely rematch No. 1 Northwestern, which gets a first-round bye. If not, Penn State could face either Rutgers or Indiana, both of which Penn State beat 1-0 this season.

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