University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Release 2012 Schedule
June 5, 2012 | Field Hockey
June 5, 2012
2012 Carolina Field Hockey Schedule
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina field hockey team will open the 2012 season Aug. 25 at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in Winston-Salem, N.C., kicking off the fall slate with Michigan for the 11th year in a row. UNC will play six games at home at Francis E. Henry Stadium this fall, beginning with a Sept. 14 matchup against Old Dominion, as well as 13 on the road before hosting the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Nov. 1, 2 and 4.
"We're very excited to host the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2006," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "The amount of field hockey talent in the ACC is amazing - it's the toughest conference in the country top-to-bottom. Having all of those teams at Henry Stadium is an honor for us."
In addition to the ACC schedule, the Tar Heels will play 13 non-conference opponents, including six games against five teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last season: Michigan, Iowa, Syracuse, Old Dominion and Stanford.
UNC will make two-game weekend trips to New York (facing Syracuse and Cornell), Delaware (University of Delaware and Villanova) and Massachusetts (Boston College and Dartmouth) as well as to Winston-Salem for the ACC-Big Ten matchups against Michigan and Iowa.
Carolina bid goodbye to five seniors from last year's squad team that finished 23-2 as the NCAA runner-up for the second year in a row. Six starters and 18 letterwinners return, including 2011 ACC Offensive Player of the Year Kelsey Kolojejchick and ACC Defensive Player of the Year Caitlin Van Sickle, both of whom will be seniors this season.
