University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Open ACC Play Thursday Against Duke
October 30, 2006 | Field Hockey
Oct. 30, 2006
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina will be the No. 6 seed in this weekend's Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship and will open play on Thursday at 4 p.m. with a first-round game against No. 3 seed Duke. UNC is hosting the single-elimination tournament Nov. 2, 3 and 5 at Francis E. Henry Stadium.
Maryland and Wake Forest tied for the league's regular-season championship, but Maryland was awarded the tournament's top seed based on having defeated Wake in the regular season. After No. 2 Wake and No. 3 Duke, Boston College earned the No. 4 seed. Virginia and UNC tied for the fifth spot, but Virginia won the tiebreaker based on having beaten the Tar Heels in head-to-head play earlier this fall.
Boston College and Virginia will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday, with the UNC-Duke game following at 4. Maryland and Wake Forest received first-round byes and will begin play Friday. The winner of the B.C.-Virginia game will advance to meet Maryland at 4 p.m. on Friday, while the UNC-Duke winner will meet the Demon Deacons at 7 p.m. Friday. The championship game is scheduled for noon on Sunday.
Maryland, the defending ACC and NCAA champion, has been ranked No. 1 in the nation all season. All six conference teams currently are ranked in the national top 10.
The quarterfinal and semifinal games of the tournament will be webcast on www.ACCSelect.com. Live stats for all at www.TheACC.com and at www.TarHeelBlue.com.
Sunday's championship game will be televised on a tape-delayed basis at 5:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Net South, FSN Florida, Comcast SportsNet, and New England Sports Network.
All-tournament ticket packages for the tournament are $10 for adults and $5 for students, seniors and children. Single-day tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students, seniors and children. Students with ID from an ACC school will be admitted for free.
North Carolina and Duke played to overtime in their first meeting of the season, with the Blue Devils winning 2-1 in Durham on Sept. 23. Thursday's game will give UNC the opportunity to reclaim half of the Carlyle Cup point Duke won in the season's first meeting. The Carlyle Cup is the annual all-sports competition between the two schools.
UNC has won 15 ACC titles, more than any other school in the league, and is 32-8 all-time in conference tournament play. The Tar Heels' most recent crown came in 2004.
