University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Field Hockey Hosts Fan Appreciation Day
September 15, 2000 | Field Hockey
Sept. 15, 2000
UNC's Francis E. Henry Stadium will host one of the country's top field hockey rivalries and serve as the setting for Fan Appreciation Day Saturday when second-ranked Carolina meets third-ranked Old Dominion at 1 p.m. The first 300 fans to arrive will receive hotdogs and sodas and the first 150 UNC students will get free t-shirts. Gift certificates for the Ramshead Rathskellar, Michael Jordan's 23 and other businesses will be given away during the game.
The game is the 49th meeting between UNC and ODU, two of field hockey's traditional powers. Old Dominion leads the series 25-21-2. Of the 19 NCAA Division I field hockey titles contested, the teams in Saturday's matchup have won 12. Old Dominion has won eight titles, the most recent in 1998, and UNC has won four, the most recent in 1997. No other team has won more than three.
Old Dominion heads into Saturday's game 4-1, with its only loss coming 5-4 in overtime to defending national champion Maryland on Sept. 3. UNC is 5-0, having beaten two teams currently ranked in the top five.
"Intercollegiate field hockey doesn't get any better than North Carolina-Old Dominion," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "This game is always a great challenge for our team, year in and year out. It takes everything we have to beat them, and a great crowd could be our 12th man. We'd like to fill the stadium every game, but especially this weekend."
On Sunday, UNC will play another big game, hosting No. 7 Virginia at 1 p.m.. (Although the two are ACC rivals, this game will not count in the conference standings.) The Cavaliers will head to Chapel Hill with a 3-1 record.
There is no charge for admission to Francis E. Henry Stadium, which has a capacity of 1,086 and is located on Ridge Road on the UNC campus. The biggest Henry Stadium field hockey crowd to date was 976, for last year's Fan Appreciation Day game, which Maryland won 2-1 in overtime.
