Tar Heels Set To Host Final Four At Shelton Stadium

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No one on this year's team had been born the last time UNC hosted the field hockey final four. The year was 1987 and Karen Shelton was in her seventh season as the Tar Heels' head coach. In those days, one of the participating teams provided the site, and that year it was UNC. Making their second final four trip in program history, the Tar Heels hosted at the turf field that would eventually become Francis E. Henry Stadium. They beat Massachusetts 3-0 in the semifinals then fell to Maryland 2-1 in overtime in the final, continuing the search for their first NCAA title.

Eight national championships and 33 seasons later, the Tar Heels are hosting the final four again, this time at Karen Shelton Stadium, just down Ridge Road from the 1987 site. Playing in the NCAA semifinals for the 12^th consecutive season, UNC (17-1) will take on Iowa Friday at 1 p.m. in the first NCAA semifinal game. The second semifinal is also an Atlantic Coast Conference-Big Ten matchup, with Michigan and Louisville meeting at 4 p.m.. The winners play Sunday at 7 p.m. for what will be considered the 2020 title, even though it's being contested in 2021.

The Friday games will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the championship is on ESPNU, a first for NCAA field hockey.

There is no general public admission for the games.

In addition to being the first-ever NCAA semifinal game at Shelton Stadium (the Tar Heels will host again in 2023), Friday's game is historic in that it's UNC's 100^th NCAA Tournament game, more than any other program. The Tar Heels are 71-28 all-time in tournament play and also hold the records for wins and appearances.

Tournament Tar Heels
• The Tar Heels are making a record 37th appearance in the NCAA Tournament field.
• The Tar Heels have 71 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.
• UNC is the top seed in the field for the third year in a row.
• UNC hosted NCAA Tournament first and second-round games for the 22nd time in program history. The Tar Heels are 32-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Chapel Hill, 5-0 in games at Shelton Stadium.

UNC vs. Iowa
• UNC leads the series with the Hawkeyes 30-3.
• The teams traditionally meet each year in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, with Iowa almost always the second game of the season for Carolina. That event didn't take place in 2020-21 as the teams played only conference opponents.
• The teams last met in the 2019 NCAA Tournament in Chapel Hill, when UNC won 2-1 in a second-round game. Iowa scored first and gave up just two shots to the Tar Heels, but UNC managed to score on both. The first Tar Heel goal was by Erin Matson in the 25th minute and the second was by Feline Guenther in the 46th.
• The teams are meeting for the fourth time in NCAA play. UNC leads that series 3-1 with Iowa's win coming in 1999 in Iowa City. The 2019 matchup is the only other time the teams have met in tournament play in Chapel Hill.

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Players Mentioned

Erin Matson