Carolina Hosts Wake Friday With NCAA Berth On the Line

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina continues the 2020-21 field hockey season and dips a toe into postseason play Friday when the top-ranked Tar Heels host Wake Forest in a battle for the Atlantic Coast Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament field.

The Tar Heels and Demon Deacons play at 1 p.m. at Karen Shelton Stadium. There is no charge for admission, but attendance numbers will be limited due to state Covid protocols. Gates open at noon.

It's the second meeting of the spring season for UNC and WFU, which also met on March 13 in Winston-Salem, with Carolina winning 2-0. The Tar Heels also won both fall meetings: 3-1 at Wake on Sept. 20 in the season opener and 5-0 in Chapel Hill on Oct. 30.

The one-game playoff to earn the ACC's automatic bid, which traditionally goes to the winner of the ACC Tournament, was meant to pit the fall champion against the spring champion. UNC won both "seasons," winning the tournament in the fall to claim the program's 23^rd conference title and then going 5-0 in the spring, so the second spot goes to the spring season runner-up. Wake Forest and Boston College both had 3-2 records this spring, but the Demon Deacons won the tie-breaker based on having won the teams' head-to-head matchup.

The NCAA Championship field will be announced Saturday at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com. UNC is set to host throughout the tournament, with NCAA first and second round games at Shelton Stadium on April 30 and May 2, the NCAA semifinal games on May 7 and the title game on May 9.

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