Carolina To Take On Virginia In Semis

Nov. 19, 2009

Press Conference, Nov. 19: Coach Karen Shelton, Senior Danielle Forword, Junior Katelyn Falgowski (mp3)

UNC in the NCAA Tournament The third-ranked and third-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels (18-2) continue play in the 2009 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament Friday with a national semifinals game against No. 2 Virginia (20-3) in Winston-Salem, N.C. Game time at Kentner Stadium is 4:30 p.m.

In the other semifinal game in Winston-Salem, top-ranked and top-seeded Maryland (22-0) takes on fourth-seeded Princeton (16-2) at 2 p.m. The winners of the semifinal games meet Sunday at noon for the national championship.

Carolina is a five-time NCAA champion, with the program's most recent title coming in 2007. The Tar Heels are making their 14th appearance in the NCAA semifinals.

Tickets
Tickets may be purchased at Kentner Stadium on game days, at the Bridger Field House ticket office ahead of time, or by phone at 888-758-3322. Single-session tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students and $4 each for groups. All-session tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for students and $7 for groups. Children over 12 months of age must have a ticket.

On the Air

Fans can follow the semifinals action live on Gametracker, the link to which can be found at TarHeelBlue.com.

Sunday's championship game will be televised by live by the CBS College Sports Network.

Fast Facts on UNC Field Hockey
2009 Record: 18-2 (4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference)
Final NFHCA poll ranking (Nov. 10): No. 3
Head Coach: Karen Shelton (West Chester, `79)
Record at UNC and overall: 480-133-9 (29th season)
Assistant Coaches: Grant Fulton, Baden Sharp, Xan Funk
Home Stadium: Francis E. Henry Stadium (Astroturf)
Stadium Capacity: 1,086
NCAA Championships: Five - 1989, '95, '96, '97, 2007
ACC Championships: 16 - 1983, '84, '85, '86, '87, '88, '89, '90, '91, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, 2004, 2007

Quick Hits

UNC is seeking its sixth NCAA title, following crowns in 1989, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2007.

Carolina leads the series with Virginia 41-15, but the teams have split their two previous NCAA Tournament meetings, the most recent coming in 1996.

Fourteen players on the 2009 Carolina roster also were part of the 2007 NCAA title team.

The same 10 field players have started all 20 of UNC's games this fall. Jackie Kintzer has started 18 games in goal, and Brianna O'Donnell two.

Five Tar Heels - Illse Davids, Katelyn Falgowski, Danielle Forword, Jackie Kintzer and Kelsey Kolojejchick - earned All-ACC honors this season. Kolojejchick, who was honored as the ACC Freshman of the Year, was the only freshman on the team. Senior Melanie Brill was named All-ACC Tournament.

Senior Danielle Forword now ranks ninth in school history in career goals and 10th in career points. With three goals during last weekend's NCAA action, she now has 14 for the season and 51 for her career.

Junior Katelyn Falgowski's season total of 22 assists ranks as the ninth-best season total in school history. (Falgowski also holds the No. 9 spot with 21 in 2007). Her career total of 46 is second in school history.

UNC's 2009 Statistical Leaders

Goals: Melanie Brill 17, Kelsey Kolojejchick 15, Danielle Forword 14, Jaclyn Gaudioso Radvany 9

Assists: Katelyn Falgowski 22, Riley Foster 16, Kelsey Kolojejchick 7

Points: Brill 40 (17 g, 6 a), Kolojejchick 37 (15 g, 7 a), Falgowski 34 (6 g, 22 a), Forword 33 (14 g, 5 a), Gaudioso Radvany 18 (9 g, 0 a); Foster 18 (1 g, 16 a)

In the NCAA Tournament

North Carolina received an at-large bid to the 2009 NCAA Tournament and is making its 26th appearance in the field. The Tar Heels are 39-20 in NCAA play, dating back to their first appearance in 1983 and including first and second-round wins in 2009. The Tar Heels have won five titles - in 1989, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2007 - and have finished as the national runner-up on six other occasions.

Carolina is making its 14th appearance in the NCAA semifinals.

UNC is 11-2 all-time in NCAA semifinal games and 5-6 in NCAA championship games.

Battling at Kentner

This year marks the fourth time that Wake Forest has hosted the final four and the second time UNC has been one of the teams contending for the title in Winston-Salem. In 1995, Carolina beat James Madison 3-0 in the semifinals and Maryland 5-1 in the final to claim the program's second title and what would prove to be the first of three in a row.

Wake Forest also hosted the national championship weekend in 2004 and 2006. The Demon Deacons won the crown on their home field in '04 and finished as the runner-up in 2006, falling 1-0 to Maryland in the title.

Including first and second-round wins this year, UNC is 4-1 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played at Kentner Stadium.
1995: Beat James Madison 3-0, semifinals; Beat Maryland 5-1, championship
2005: Lost 3-2 to Indiana, first round
2009: Beat Ohio State 4-1, first round; Beat Wake Forest 4-1, second round

Familiar Ground

Friday's game will be UNC's fourth at Kentner Stadium in the past seven weeks. The Tar Heels played there against host Wake Forest on Oct. 3 in an Atlantic Coast Conference game UNC won 3-0. Carolina then spent the first weekend of the tournament in Winston-Salem, defeating Ohio State in the first round and the Demon Deacons in the second.

The Tar Heels also played a pre-season scrimmage at Kentner back in August. Through the years, Kentner Stadium has become a home away from home for the Tar Heels. In 2008, UNC played its first three games of the season in Winston-Salem, meeting Michigan and Iowa in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge to tip off the season, then returning the following week to face the Demon Deacons.

Tar Heels vs. Cavaliers

Friday's game against Virginia in the NCAA semifinals will mark the third time UNC and UVa have met in the NCAA Tournament, with each team winning one of the previous contests.

In 1984, in the program's second NCAA appearance, the Tar Heels lost 2-1 in penalty strokes to Virginia in a first-round game played in Norfolk, Va. In 1996, UNC received a first-round bye then opened tournament play with a 2-1 win over the Cavaliers in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels went on to the national championship, their third overall and second in a string of three in a row.

The teams split this year's meetings, with UNC winning 2-1 in overtime at Virginia on Oct. 17 and host UVa winning 1-0 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.

Carolina leads the overall series with Virginia 41-15. The Cavaliers won the first eight games in the series, but have won two in a row only once since then. Those back-to-back wins came during the 1997 season, when Carolina suffered only three losses all season and went on to the NCAA title.

Players Mentioned

Melanie Brill

Illse Davids

Katelyn Falgowski

Dani Forword

Riley Foster

Xan Funk

Jackie Kintzer

Brianna O'Donnell

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University of North Carolina Athletics