University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 1 UNC To Host NCAA Action
November 9, 2004 | Field Hockey
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Nov. 9, 2004
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The top-ranked North Carolina field hockey team has received an at-large bid to the 2004 NCAA Field Hockey Championship and will host first and second round games this weekend at Francis E. Henry Stadium. The Tar Heels (20-1) are the No. 1 seed in the 16-team field. They'll face Richmond in a first-round game on Saturday at 11 a.m. In the other first-round game at UNC, Duke will play Old Dominion at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The winners will meet on Sunday at 2 p.m. for a spot in the NCAA semifinals on Nov. 19 at Wake Forest's Kentner Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. The national championship game is set for Nov. 21.
Admission to Henry Stadium for this weekend's games is $5 for adults and $3 for students.
"We're thrilled to be playing in the tournament, and we're excited to host and be the top seed," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "We focus on playing our best field hockey at the end of the season, and we feel like our best is yet to come."
All four teams in the Chapel Hill field are currently ranked in the nation's top 12. In the season's final NFHCA Division I coaches' poll, released Tuesday, Carolina moved up to the top spot from No. 2 after winning its 15th ACC Tournament crown with a 3-1 victory against Maryland last Sunday. Duke (15-4) is ranked No. 4, Richmond (18-2) is No. 10 and Old Dominion (13-7) is No. 12.
UNC and Richmond have faced off six times with the Tar Heels winning all six. The most recent meeting came in 2001, when Carolina won 8-0 in Chapel Hill. The two have never met in NCAA play.
"We're looking forward to playing the Spiders after not having faced them for a couple of years," Shelton said. "It's nice to start off the tournament facing a team that we haven't already played this season."
North Carolina is familiar with the other two teams playing in Chapel Hill. UNC has faced Old Dominion twice this year, winning 1-0 in Chapel Hill on Sept. 18 and 4-1 in Norfolk, Va., on Oct. 30. The Tar Heels beat Duke 2-1 in Durham on Sept. 25.
Carolina is making its 21st appearance in the NCAA field. The Tar Heels have won four national titles, in 1989, 1995, 1996 and 1997.
