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Opening day of the 2026 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse season is Feb. 6.
Throughout the month of January, we'll pose three burning questions for each team ranked in the USA Lacrosse Division I Women's Preseason Top 20, presented by CWENCH Hydration, starting with No. 20 James Madison and finishing with No. 1 North Carolina.
Join the conversation on social media @USALMag (IG/X/FB). Wrong answers only.
Down nine goals late in the NCAA quarterfinals against Florida, Duke seemed determined to keep 2025 going. Who can blame the Blue Devils? Their 6-3 conference mark was their best since 2022, and they had won two NCAA Tournament games for the first time since their 2015 Final Four run.
Duke scored the final seven goals of the game, falling just short of the comeback bid in an 11-9 loss.
Now, the Blue Devils are eager to turn the page to 2026. Despite key losses on offense and in net, head coach Kerstin Kimel is confident in this year’s returners, especially in the midfield.
Here are three questions entering 2026 that the Blue Devils must answer.
Duke graduates offensive leaders and attackers in Callie Hem (67G, 5A) and Carly Bernstein (46G, 36A).
“We’re going to look different without having Callie in the middle — it was like having a big target,” Kimel said of Hem, who tied a program NCAA record with eight goals at James Madison in the first round last season.
Eva Pronti (13G, 49A) will be a big part of that “different look,” as Kimel says she’ll take on a larger role in 2026. Bella Goodwin is back for her junior year after a breakout season in which she scored 53 goals. The Blue Devils also bring in Avery Doran, who tallied 23 goals and 24 assists during her freshman year at Brown. Unlike recent fifth-year Ivy transfers like Hem and Gabby Rosenzweig at Duke, Doran, who also plays with the Haudenosaunee Nationals, arrives in Durham with three years of eligibility left.
As talented as these attackers are, Kimel predicts we’ll see more of a midfield-driven offense, as players like junior Caitlin Barrett (13G, 6A) — a gold-medal winner on the 2024 U.S. U20 team — and sophomore Maddie MacDonald (9G, 1A) return with more game experience.
Kerry Nease (112DC) took and corralled the majority of the Blue Devils’ draws in 2025. She graduated, but Kimel said junior Ellie White will reclaim that post. White had been Duke’s primary draw taker in 2024 until she sustained a season-ending injury in the team’s fourth game against Clemson. White returned last season, finishing second with 76 draws and shining in Duke’s postseason win against James Madison, outdueling All-American Maddie Epke 11-8 in the circle.
Sophomore defender Mabel Overbeck, redshirt freshman midfielder Kaitlin Robinson and freshman midfielder Cat LeTendre are other candidates to take the draw. Similar to the offense, Kimel said the circle players will primarily come from the midfield: Barrett (41DC), MacDonald (20DC), junior Reese Woodworth (15DC), sophomore Sadie Stafford (7DC) and freshman Quinn Whitaker all saw time on the circle in the fall.
Our defense is very long and fast, and I think what we can do defensively plays to Hope’s strengths.
Duke coach Kerstin Kimel as Hope Schoudel has emerged as the favorite to replace Kennedy Everson in goal
Kennedy Everson’s (10.72GAA, .420 SV%) graduation leaves an open spot in net. Redshirt freshman Hope Schoudel emerged as the favorite to take over in the fall. Kimel describes the Darien, Conn., product and high school All-American as quick, athletic and a gamer.
“Our defense is very long and fast, and I think what we can do defensively plays to Hope’s strengths,” Kimel said.
But Kimel doesn’t want to name a winner in November — the 2023 season, in which the Blue Devils saw multiple injuries to their goalie corps — is still fresh in her mind. That year, Madison Drebing, now a senior, saw significant action, and Kimel said that game experience puts her in contention for playing time as well. Left redshirt sophomore Cameron Christie and freshman Bella Perry round out the goalie corps.
Beth Ann Mayer is a Long Island-based writer. She joined USA Lacrosse in 2022 after freelancing for Inside Lacrosse for five years. She first began covering the game as a student at Syracuse. When she's not writing, you can find her wrangling her husband, two children and surplus of pets.
