UNC Opens NCAA Play Sunday vs. Stanford

Sunday, May 2

Chapel Hill

Noon

North Carolina

Stanford (NCAA Quarterfinal Round)

Courtnie Williamson and the Tar Heels open NCAA Tournament play Sunday.

Photo by: Andy Mead

May 2, 2021 | Field Hockey

Game Notes

By: UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina opens its quest for a third-straight NCAA field hockey title on Sunday, hosting Stanford at noon at Karen Shelton Stadium. With a smaller tournament field this year, the top four seeds each received first-round byes and UNC, the top overall seed in the field for the third year in a row, opens play in the second round.

There is no general public admission to Sunday's games, but fans can watch the games through a live stream at GoHeels.com.

Stanford (11-2) advanced with a 5-4 overtime win over Miami (Ohio) at Shelton Stadium on Friday. In the other first-round game, Northwestern beat Delaware 4-1.

After the noon UNC-Stanford game, Iowa and Northwestern will face off at 3 p.m. Winners advance to the national semifinals, set for May 7, also at KSS. North Carolina is one of two sites hosting first and second-round games this weekend, with Penn State the other.

UNC is hosting NCAA Tournament first and second-round games for the 22nd time in program history. The Tar Heels are 30-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Chapel Hill, 4-0 in games at Shelton Stadium.

For the full bracket click here.

UNC and Stanford are meeting for the 13^th time overall and the sixth time in NCAA Tournament play. They last met in a first-round game in Chapel Hill in 2019, with UNC winning 4-0.

Carolina leads the overall series 11-1, with Stanford's win coming on Oct. 1, 1984, 3-2 in a neutral-site matchup played in Norfolk, Va.

The Tar Heels hold a number of NCAA Tournament records:
• They are making a record 37th appearance in the NCAA Tournament field.
• Sunday's game is UNC's 99th in NCAA Tournament play, also a record.
• The Tar Heels have 70 NCAA Tournament wins, more than any other school. Maryland is second with 64 and Old Dominion is third with 50, with neither in the field this year.
• North Carolina is 70-28 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.