Lander University

Field Hockey 11/8/2026 1:06:00 PM Turner Kirby - Director of Athletic Communications

Lander Opens South Atlantic Conference Tournament at Home Tuesday

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Lander field hockey team has earned the No. 3 seed in the 2026 South Atlantic Conference Field Hockey Championship and will host sixth-seeded Coker in a quarterfinal matchup Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. at Frank Hill Stadium.

Admission to the game will be free, and the contest will be streamed live on FloSports.

This marks the fourth consecutive season the Bearcats have earned hosting rights for the opening round of the SAC Tournament and the third straight year a quarterfinal matchup will be played at Frank Hill Stadium. Lander hosted its 2023 quarterfinal contest in Newberry.

Tuesday's matchup will be the first postseason meeting between Lander and Coker, with the Cobras making their first SAC Tournament appearance since 2022, when they fell to Newberry, 3-0, in the quarterfinals.

Coker will be making its third postseason appearance in program history as the Cobras pursue their second conference tournament championship. Their lone title came in the 2020 South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Championship, which was contested in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lander swept both regular-season meetings with Coker, although the first matchup took nearly a month to complete.

The teams originally met Sept. 22 in Hartsville, but inclement weather forced the suspension of the contest with Lander leading 1-0 late in the third quarter. The Bearcats returned to the field Oct. 17 and closed out the shutout victory before earning a 2-0 win in the teams' originally scheduled second meeting later that afternoon.

The two victories extended Lander's winning streak against Coker to four consecutive meetings.

The Bearcats enter the tournament seeking their second SAC Tournament championship after capturing the program's first conference title in 2023.

Lander has qualified for the conference tournament in every season of the program's existence, advancing to the semifinals in all but one appearance. The Bearcats have also reached the SAC Championship game twice, winning the title in 2023 before returning to the final in 2025.

A victory Tuesday would also give Lander its 10th win of the season, marking the fourth consecutive year the Bearcats have reached double-digit victories. Lander is one of just two SAC programs with an opportunity to record at least 10 wins in each of the last four seasons.

The winner of Tuesday's quarterfinal will advance to face second-seeded Belmont Abbey in the semifinals Friday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. at Setzler Field in Newberry.

Should Lander advance, it would mark the second consecutive season the Bearcats and Crusaders have met in the semifinals and their fourth overall postseason meeting, making Belmont Abbey Lander's most frequent SAC Tournament opponent.

Despite dropping both regular-season meetings with Belmont Abbey in 2026, the Bearcats hold a perfect 3-0 record against the Crusaders in postseason play.

That streak began with the first postseason victory in program history, a 1-0 win over Belmont Abbey on Nov. 15, 2022.

On the opposite side of the bracket, fourth-seeded Converse will host fifth-seeded Wingate in Tuesday's other quarterfinal matchup in Spartanburg. The winner will advance to face top-seeded and defending tournament champion Newberry in Friday's semifinals at Setzler Field.

During the regular season, Lander swept both meetings with Wingate, split its two contests against Converse and dropped both matchups with Newberry.

The SAC Championship game is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m. at Setzler Field.

The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship. An NCAA Tournament appearance would be the first in Lander program history, as the conference did not receive an automatic qualifying bid during the Bearcats' championship run in 2023.

Additional information about the SAC Tournament, including ticket details for the semifinals and championship game, is available on the SAC Tournament website.

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