It’s not a secret that Rowan field hockey could have played better against nationally-ranked programs last season. A 3-7 record against top-25 teams in 2024 wasn’t what the Profs wanted, and frankly, doesn’t reflect the season that Rowan put together. This included a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) trophy and a win in the NCAA tournament over Ursinus College, which had beaten the Profs 6-2 to open the season.

Now, just three games into the season, Rowan has beaten two nationally ranked programs and nearly squeaked a win out of Johns Hopkins University, ranked No. 3 in the country at the time. Obviously, it’s a game the Profs would’ve loved to scrap together a win on, but there were no crying eyes after the three-game start the squad has had.

“I’m not down on us,” said Head Coach Michelle Andre. “That’s the one thing I can always say about our Rowan teams and especially our defensive unit, we always get better as the season goes along. And that’s an NCAA-level type game. Like that’s a matchup you see in an Elite Eight on a Final Four.”

Now, after three juggernaut matchups to open the season, the Profs have cracked the top ten in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Coaches Poll for week one, moving up six spots. Their next opponent? No. 25 Stevens Institute of Technology to finish a four-game home stretch.

It’s hard to argue that the approach the Profs will take into every game is the right one, considering their struggles against top-ranked squads. 

“I mean, we lost to Stevens last year,”  Andre said. “So the mindset is again, like I told them in the locker room, is to make sure that every game you play is at this NCAA level because everybody is coming for it. 

But the rankings don’t matter to these players. It’s winning against them that does.

“When you’ve been at the top for a while or you’re one of the top teams, you can make somebody’s season by beating them,” Andre said. “And we don’t want them beating us, be the highlight of their season.”