University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Host Boston College, Radford This Weekend
October 4, 2007 | Field Hockey
Oct. 4, 2007
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The top-ranked North Carolina field hockey team will put its undefeated record on the line twice this weekend with a pair of games at Francis E. Henry Stadium. No. 10 Boston College visits Saturday for a 10:30 a.m. Atlantic Coast Conference matchup, and Radford visits Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Tar Heels (12-0, 2-0 ACC) will celebrate Senior Day.
Saturday's 10:30 a.m. start is ideal for Tar Heel fans planning to stop by Henry Stadium on their way to Kenan Stadium for the noon football kickoff against Miami. There is no charge for admission to field hockey games.
Boston College is 8-4 on the season following a 3-0 loss to Providence on Wednesday. The Eagles are in their third year of ACC competition and will host this year's conference tournament. BC junior Bob Dirks leads the ACC in shots per game and is tied for third in points with 26.
Sunday, UNC will honor its seven seniors - Laree Beans, Rachel Dawson, Xan Funk, Jesse Gey, Heather Kendell, Liz Morris and Alli Tanner - prior to the start of the action. Radford is 3-9 on the season heading into a game Thursday against Pacific.
At 12-0, UNC is off to its best start since 1994, when the Tar Heels won their first 14 games and finished the year 21-2. They're one shy of equalling last year's wins total of 13.
Carolina has recorded shutouts in its last seven games, outscoring opponents 43-0 over that span. Four of the last seven opponents have been ranked teams, two of those in the top 10.
Parking information for Saturday: Due to parking restrictions for the UNC-Miami football game on Saturday at noon, spectator parking for the UNC-Boston College field hockey game will be extremely limited in the area around Henry Stadium. Ridge Road will be very congested with football game day parking. An assigned parking pass will be needed to park on the lots off of Ridge Road.
Field hockey parking will be available in all football lots open to the general public. The closest to Henry Stadium is the Manning Lot, located on Skipper Bowles Drive. The cost to park is $8 per car.
UNC also offers shuttle service (for the football game) via Tar Heel Express buses that begin service to campus three hours prior to kickoff, so 9 a.m. on Saturday. The on-campus drop and pick up location for this service is along South Road in front of Carmichael Auditorium and Woolen Gym. The cost for these buses is $3 per person each way or $5 round trip.
For more information on parking for Saturday, go to www.dps.unc.edu.
Top of the polls: The Tar Heels are now ranked No. 1 in both national polls. UNC has been atop the NFHCA coaches' poll since the week of Sept. 10 and is now receiving 42 of 47 first-place votes, up from 14 in the preseason poll. After spending the season at No. 2 in the Womensfieldhockey.com poll, Carolina moved up to No. 1 in the poll of Oct. 1. Maryland, also 12-0, is No. 2 in both polls. The Terrapins travel to Chapel Hill for an ACC matchup on Oct. 20.
Dawson climbing the charts: Senior Rachel Dawson has moved into the top 10 in school history in both scoring and goals. Heading into this weekend's games, she has 49 goals, tied with Abby Martin (1998-2001) for ninth on the career goals list. In eighth is Maryellen Falcone (1984-87) with 50. Dawson's total of 116 points also ranks ninth in school history. Martin is in eighth with 128 points.
