Villanova field hockey opens its 2026 season Friday, Aug. 28, against a Delaware program the Wildcats have never beaten.

The neutral-site game starts at 4 p.m. at Buckley Field in Philadelphia and streams on YouTube. Villanova then travels to the Proving Grounds in Conshohocken to face La Salle on Sunday, Aug. 30, at noon on ESPN+.

Head coach Joanie Milhous returns 16 of 25 players from a squad that went 5-13 last year but still reached the Big East semifinals before falling to Liberty 3-1. All five of the team's top point-scorers are back: Colleen Finnan, Gemma Lysaght, Addie Froehlich, Erin Mitchall and Ava Borkowski.

Borkowski earned Big East Preseason Offensive Player of the Year honors, according to the university's athletics site, giving the Wildcats a marquee individual talent as they chase a deeper postseason run.

The Delaware matchup carries history. Villanova meets the Blue Hens for the fourth straight season but has never won in the series. The last meeting ended 8-0 in Delaware's favor. The Blue Hens finished 7-11 last season but won a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship game over UC Davis. Delaware returns four of its top five scorers and goalkeeper Gabby Prentice.

Sunday's contest against La Salle is the 49th all-time meeting between the programs. Villanova holds a 39-8-1 series edge and beat the Explorers 3-0 in their most recent matchup last season. La Salle went 7-11 and missed the Atlantic 10 playoffs but returns goalkeeper Abby Boggs, who started every game in 2025, along with three double-digit point-scorers.

The Wildcats will eventually settle into a new permanent home on the Cabrini Campus in Radnor, where their pitch occupies the site of the former Edith Robb Dixon Field, according to Main Line Media News.