BETHLEHEM, Pa. – American ranked atop the 2026 Patriot League Field Hockey Preseason Poll and Jordan Reicher (Sr., F) and Emilia Winkler (Sr., M) were selected as the Preseason Forward and Midfielder of the Year, respectively, when the League office announced honors on Thursday.
Lafayette’s Lena Thedrian (Sr., D) earned Patriot League Preseason Defender of the Year honors, and Bucknell’s Sarah Althouse (Sr., GK) received the Patriot League Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. Althouse, Reicher, Thedrian and Winkler highlighted the League’s 13-member Preseason All-Patriot League squad.
The Eagles, led by head coach Steve Jennings, received 35 points and five first-place votes, while Lafayette ranked second with 30 points and one first-place vote. Defending Patriot League Champion Boston University, led by new head coach Sarah Shute, received 27 points and one first-place vote, with Bucknell ranking fourth with 22 points. Holy Cross (15), Lehigh (10) and Colgate (8) round out the preseason poll. The Crusaders, Mountain Hawks and Raiders will be under the direction of new head coaches for the 2026 season.
Voting for the Patriot League preseason field hockey awards was completed by League field hockey head coaches, who cannot vote for their student-athletes.
2026 Patriot League Field Hockey Preseason Forward of the Year
Jordan Reicher, American, Sr., F, Redwood City, Calif./Saint Francis
2025 Stats: 18 GP, 13 goals, 1 assist, 27 points, .647 SOG pct., 4 game-winning goals
*Reicher, the reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, is a two-time All-League selection and a 2025 NFHCA Third Team All-America honoree.
*She earned Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week four times last season, finishing second in the League in goals (13), third in points (27) and matching the League’s top mark of four game-winning goals.
*The Redwood City, Calif., native recorded five of her 13 goals in League play, including a two-goal performance against Holy Cross (Nov. 1) to clinch the top seed in the 2025 Patriot League Championship.
2026 Patriot League Field Hockey Preseason Midfielder of the Year
Emilia Winkler, American, Sr., M, Berlin, Germany/Kant-Oberschule
2025 Stats: 18 GP, 1 goal, 9 assists, 11 points, .400 SOG pct.
*Winkler earned First Team All-Patriot League and NFHCA All-Region Second Team honors last season. She was also a Patriot League All-Tournament selection last season.
*The Berlin, Germany, native ranked third in the Patriot League with nine assists, including three in League play.
*The two-time All-Patriot League selection recorded a career-high four assists in the Eagles’ 5-0 win over Towson (Oct. 8).
2026 Patriot League Field Hockey Preseason Defender of the Year
Lena Thedrian, Lafayette, Sr., D, Hamburg, Germany/Rudolf Steiner Schule Hamburg-Wandsbek
2025 Stats: 16 GP, 8 goals, 5 assists, 21 points, .667 SOG pct., 2 game-winning goals
*Thedrian claimed First Team All-Patriot League and NFHCA All-Region Second Team honors last season.
*The four-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week ranked fifth in the League in defensive saves (3). She was also fifth in points (21), tied for seventh in goals (8) and 11th in assists (5).
*The Hamburg, Germany, native is a three-time Patriot League All-Tournament selection.
2026 Patriot League Field Hockey Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Sarah Althouse, Bucknell, Sr., GK, Reading, Pa./Muhlenburg
2025 Stats: 17 GP, 999:49 minutes, 23 goals against, 82 saves, .781 save pct., 10 wins, 4 shutouts
*Althouse is a two-time Second Team All-Patriot League selection, helping the Bison to berths in the Patriot League Championship in her three seasons in Lewisburg.
*Last season, she led the Patriot League and ranked sixth in NCAA Division I in save percentage (.781), while finishing second in the League and 22nd in the nation in goals-against average (GAA) (1.38).
*The Reading, Pa., native enters the 2026 season ranked ninth in Patriot League history with a 1.58 career GAA.
Eight Preseason Honorees Return from the 2025 All-Patriot League Team (2025 Stats)
Eight of 13 Preseason All-Patriot League selections were members of the 2025 All-Patriot League Field Hockey First or Second Teams. Reicher (Sr., F), the League’s reigning offensive player of the year, highlights a group of five student-athletes that collected first-team accolades last season, including Thedrian and Winkler. Boston University’s Caroline O’Brien (Sr., F), the 2025 first-teamer and Patriot League Championship MVP, became the first player to record a hat trick in a Patriot League championship game to lead the Terriers to their first title since 2018. Holy Cross’ Maguire Sturgis (Sr., M) was also a first-team selection last season.
Bucknell’s Althouse (Sr., GK) is a two-time second-team selection, while American’s Sophie Willemse (Sr., M) and Colgate’s Morgan Willis (Sr., F) were both second-team honorees in 2025.
Two more League student-athletes, Boston University’s Nicole Lauro (Sr., M) and Lafayette’s Stella Malinowski (Sr., F) were previously selected to All-Patriot League teams. Lauro was a second-team honoree in 2024, while Malinowski was a second-team honoree in 2023 and 2024 in addition to being the 2023 Patriot League Field Hockey Rookie of the Year.
2026 Patriot League Field Hockey Preseason Poll
1. American, 35 points, (5 first-place votes)
2. Lafayette, 30 (1)
3. Boston University, 27 (1)
4. Bucknell, 22
5. Holy Cross, 15
6. Lehigh, 10
7. Colgate, 8
2026 Patriot League Field Hockey Preseason Major Awards
Preseason Forward of the Year – Jordan Reicher, American, Sr., F
Preseason Midfielder of the Year – Emilia Winkler, American, Sr., M
Preseason Defender of the Year – Lena Thedrian, Lafayette, Sr., D
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year – Sarah Althouse, Bucknell, Sr., GK
2026 Preseason Field Hockey All-Patriot League Team
Jordan Reicher, American, Sr., F
Sophie Willemse, American, Sr., M
Emilia Winkler, American, Sr., M
Nicole Lauro, Boston University, Sr., M
Caroline O’Brien, Boston University, Gr., F
Sarah Althouse, Bucknell, Sr., GK
Ryane Fisahn, Bucknell, Sr., F
Sally Hunter, Bucknell, Jr., D/M
Morgan Willis, Colgate, Sr., F
Maguire Sturgis, Holy Cross, Sr., M
Stella Malinowski, Lafayette, Sr., F
Lena Thedrian, Lafayette, Sr., D
Rosalie van Gool, Lafayette, So., M/D
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.