University of North Carolina Athletics
Friday, November 11
Chapel Hill
Noon
North Carolina
vs
Delaware (NCAA 1st Round)
After winning an ACC title, UNC now sets its sights on the NCAA trophy.
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
UNC Set For NCAA Field Hockey Play Against Delaware
November 11, 2022 | Field Hockey
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Top-ranked and undefeated North Carolina opens its quest for the program's 10th national championship on Friday, hosting Delaware at noon for an NCAA Tournament first round game.
Saint Joseph's and Wake Forest meet in the site's other first round game, Friday at 2:30 p.m. The winners play on Sunday at noon for a spot in the NCAA semifinals.
For more information, click here:
For tickets, click here.
Carolina (17-0) is the top overall seed in the field, which earned the Tar Heels a chance to host on their home turf at Karen Shelton Stadium. It marks the third time in the facility's four years that UNC has hosted first and second-round games.
Delaware (10-11) earned a spot in the field by winning the CAA Championship.
Heels vs. Hens
• UNC leads the overall series vs. Delaware 6-2.
• The past two meetings have come in NCAA Tournament play. In 2013, Carolina won 6-2 in a first round game in Chapel Hill. In 2016, Delaware won 3-2 in the NCAA Championship game in Norfolk, Va.
• The teams' most recent meeting was on Nov. 20, 2016, in the NCAA Championship game. The Blue Hens led 2-0 at halftime but UNC rallied to tie the game in the 63rd minute of play. Delaware went up again just over a minute later and held on for the victory. It marked the second year in a row that UNC had finished as the NCAA runner-up.
• Although UNC hasn't hosted Delaware since 2013, back when the Tar Heels still played at Francis E. Henry Stadium, Delaware has played twice already at Karen Shelton Stadium. In addition to Wednesday's opening round game, when the Blue Hens beat Lehigh to advance to Friday's first round, Delaware also played a neutral-site NCAA Tournament game in Chapel Hill in the spring of 2021. As part of the delayed 2020 tournament, UNC hosted a first-round matchup between Delaware and Northwestern, which the Wildcats won 4-1.
Noting UNC
• For the fourth time in the past five years, Carolina is the top overall seed in the NCAA field.
• On Nov. 5, North Carolina claimed the program's 25th ACC Championship with a win over Virginia in Durham. That victory gave UNC the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament field. Senior Meredith Sholder was named the tournament MVP and was joined on the All-ACC Tournament Team by Erin Matson, Ryleigh Heck and Sietske Brüning.
• Ryleigh Heck is the reigning NFHCA National Offensive Player of the Week.
• UNC is in its seventh week as the No. 1 team in the NFHCA national poll. The Tar Heels started the season at No. 2 before moving into the top spot on Sept. 27.
• The Tar Heels finished the regular season undefeated for the fifth time in program history, the first since 2019. It's the 17th time that UNC has completed an ACC season undefeated and Carolina's 21st regular-season championship (including shared titles).
• UNC has started the same 10 field players in every game this season. Goalkeepers Abigail Taylor and Kylie Walbert have alternated starts.
• Through 17 games, Carolina is outshooting opponents 291-123 and outscoring them 69-17.
• With an assist in the second quarter of the Oct. 14 win over Syracuse, Erin Matson became the all-time scoring leader in ACC history, breaking a tie with Maryland's Katie O'Donnell, who scored 306 points in 91 career games from 2007-10. Matson currently has 323 career points through 97 games.
• Matson was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year for the fifth time, making her the first five-time winner of a Player of the Year honor in league history. Meredith Sholder was named Defensive Player of the Year, Ryleigh Heck Freshman of the Year and Karen Shelton Co-Coach of the Year.
• Twelve different players have scored at least one goal for UNC this season. Three – Erin Matson, Ryleigh Heck and Ashley Sessa – have games of three goals or more.
• Erin Matson and Meredith Sholder were voted by their teammates as the 2022 captains.
Saint Joseph's and Wake Forest meet in the site's other first round game, Friday at 2:30 p.m. The winners play on Sunday at noon for a spot in the NCAA semifinals.
For more information, click here:
For tickets, click here.
Carolina (17-0) is the top overall seed in the field, which earned the Tar Heels a chance to host on their home turf at Karen Shelton Stadium. It marks the third time in the facility's four years that UNC has hosted first and second-round games.
Delaware (10-11) earned a spot in the field by winning the CAA Championship.
Heels vs. Hens
• UNC leads the overall series vs. Delaware 6-2.
• The past two meetings have come in NCAA Tournament play. In 2013, Carolina won 6-2 in a first round game in Chapel Hill. In 2016, Delaware won 3-2 in the NCAA Championship game in Norfolk, Va.
• The teams' most recent meeting was on Nov. 20, 2016, in the NCAA Championship game. The Blue Hens led 2-0 at halftime but UNC rallied to tie the game in the 63rd minute of play. Delaware went up again just over a minute later and held on for the victory. It marked the second year in a row that UNC had finished as the NCAA runner-up.
• Although UNC hasn't hosted Delaware since 2013, back when the Tar Heels still played at Francis E. Henry Stadium, Delaware has played twice already at Karen Shelton Stadium. In addition to Wednesday's opening round game, when the Blue Hens beat Lehigh to advance to Friday's first round, Delaware also played a neutral-site NCAA Tournament game in Chapel Hill in the spring of 2021. As part of the delayed 2020 tournament, UNC hosted a first-round matchup between Delaware and Northwestern, which the Wildcats won 4-1.
Noting UNC
• For the fourth time in the past five years, Carolina is the top overall seed in the NCAA field.
• On Nov. 5, North Carolina claimed the program's 25th ACC Championship with a win over Virginia in Durham. That victory gave UNC the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament field. Senior Meredith Sholder was named the tournament MVP and was joined on the All-ACC Tournament Team by Erin Matson, Ryleigh Heck and Sietske Brüning.
• Ryleigh Heck is the reigning NFHCA National Offensive Player of the Week.
• UNC is in its seventh week as the No. 1 team in the NFHCA national poll. The Tar Heels started the season at No. 2 before moving into the top spot on Sept. 27.
• The Tar Heels finished the regular season undefeated for the fifth time in program history, the first since 2019. It's the 17th time that UNC has completed an ACC season undefeated and Carolina's 21st regular-season championship (including shared titles).
• UNC has started the same 10 field players in every game this season. Goalkeepers Abigail Taylor and Kylie Walbert have alternated starts.
• Through 17 games, Carolina is outshooting opponents 291-123 and outscoring them 69-17.
• With an assist in the second quarter of the Oct. 14 win over Syracuse, Erin Matson became the all-time scoring leader in ACC history, breaking a tie with Maryland's Katie O'Donnell, who scored 306 points in 91 career games from 2007-10. Matson currently has 323 career points through 97 games.
• Matson was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year for the fifth time, making her the first five-time winner of a Player of the Year honor in league history. Meredith Sholder was named Defensive Player of the Year, Ryleigh Heck Freshman of the Year and Karen Shelton Co-Coach of the Year.
• Twelve different players have scored at least one goal for UNC this season. Three – Erin Matson, Ryleigh Heck and Ashley Sessa – have games of three goals or more.
• Erin Matson and Meredith Sholder were voted by their teammates as the 2022 captains.
Players Mentioned
Midfielder/Forward
/ Field Hockey
Forward
/ Field Hockey
Forward/Midfielder
/ Field Hockey
Forward/Midfielder
/ Field Hockey
Goalkeeper
/ Field Hockey
Goalkeeper
/ Field HockeyUNC Men's Basketball: Tar Heels Edged by #8 BYU in Exhibition, 78-76
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