Field Hockey Earns Final Four Spot With 4-2 Win Over Harvard

Sunday, November 12

Chapel Hill

Noon

North Carolina

(16-3)

Harvard (NCAA Second Round)

(16-4)

Harvard

North Carolina

The Tar Heels are in the final four for the 14th time in 15 years.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

November 12, 2023 | Field Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina earned another game on its home turf, beating Harvard 4-2 Sunday afternoon to book a spot in the NCAA field hockey semifinals, to be played at Carolina's Karen Shelton Stadium on Friday.

The Tar Heels will make a record 27^th appearance in the sport's final four and are hosting the championship weekend for the first time since the 2020 season. UNC has won four of the past five NCAA championships (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022) and is in the semifinals for the 14^th time in the past 15 seasons.

Freshman Charly Bruder scored the first two for Carolina, both on penalty corners. Sophomore Ryleigh Heck added another and junior Lisa Slinkert provided the capper, also on a corner as the Tar Heels improved to 16-3 on the year.

Senior Paityn Wirth finished with a career-high four assists, with a hand in every goal. Senior Katie Dixon had three, also a career high.

UNC led 24-13 in shots and 13-5 in penalty corners. The Tar Heels didn't give up a corner after halftime.

North Carolina is the top overall seed in the NCAA field. The Tar Heels beat William & Mary 6-1 on Friday in the first round, and No. 9 Harvard advanced with a win over No. 6 Rutgers. Sunday's matchup was the first-ever meeting between UNC and Harvard, but the coming weekend will provide plenty of familiar faces. The Tar Heels will meet Virginia in the semis, facing off with the Cavaliers for the third time this season after UVA pulled a second-round road upset, beating host Maryland 4-0 on Sunday. Also in the Atlantic Coast Conference-heavy field is Duke, which advanced with a home turf win over Syracuse.

No. 1 UNC 4, No. 9 Harvard 2
Scoring: UNC – Charly Bruder (Paityn Wirth, Katie Dixon), 4:26; Harvard – Kitty Chapple (Bronte-May Brough), 9:34; UNC – Bruder (Wirth, Dixon), 16:23; UNC – Ryleigh Heck (Wirth), 35:26; Harvard – Lara Beekhuis (Lucy Leel), 47:19; UNC – Lisa Slinkert (Wirth, Dixon)
Shots: UNC 24 (11/2/6/5), Harvard 13 (5/4/1/3)
Penalty corners: UNC 13 (7/1/3/2), Harvard 5 (2/3/0/0)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 6 (Maddie Kahn, 60:00, 6 saves, 2 goals allowed), Harvard 8 (Tessa Shahbo, 55:01, 8 saves, 4 goals allowed; Team, 4:59)
Defensive saves: Harvard 2 (Avery Donahue, Emily Guckian)
Records: UNC 16-3, Harvard 16-4