UNC is hosting the NCAA Field Hockey Championship at Karen Shelton Stadium.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Carolina Set to Host Field Hockey Final Four
November 16, 2023 | Field Hockey
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina will play its biggest game of the season on its home turf Friday, hosting No. 4 Virginia at noon in the first of two NCAA semifinal games at Karen Shelton Stadium. No. 2 Northwestern and No. 3 Duke meet in the other, set for 3 p.m., with the winners facing off Sunday at 1:30 for the national championship.
No. 1 UNC is the top seed in the NCAA Tournament field and comes into the game at 16-3. The Tar Heels advanced to the semifinals with wins over William & Mary (6-1 in the first round) and Harvard (4-2 in the second round), both at KSS.
It's the third time the Tar Heels and Cavaliers have met in the past month, with both previous matchups in Charlottesville and each team winning one. In the most recent meeting, on Nov. 1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals, Carolina won 3-2 to earn a spot in the conference championship game.
The Tar Heels have also faced Duke twice in the past month, once in Chapel Hill and once in Charlottesville in the ACC final. Carolina has won both of those meetings. UNC is less familiar with the one non-ACC team in the field, the Northwestern Wildcats. Carolina and Northwestern last met in the 2022 NCAA Championship game, with UNC winning 2-1.
Tickets to the game are sold out. A very limited number of tickets will be available free to students at the gate. Limited standing-room tickets could be available on game day.
This is the third time Carolina has hosted the field hockey final four. In 1987, the Tar Heels lost to Maryland in overtime in the final. In May of 2021, for the Covid-delayed 2020 championship, UNC beat Michigan in overtime.
UNC is the defending NCAA champion and is playing for the 11th crown in program history.
UNC in the NCAA Tourney
• The Tar Heels are making a record 40th appearance in the NCAA Tournament field. Friday's game will be UNC's 109th in NCAA Tournament play, also a record.
• The Tar Heels have 79 NCAA Tournament wins, more than any other school. Maryland is second with 69 and Old Dominion is third with 50.
• The Tar Heels are making their 27th final four trip. They had appeared in the NCAA semifinals 12 years in a row before being knocked out in the first round in 2021 (by eventual-champion Northwestern). UNC was back in the final four in 2022 and went on to win the title, beating the Wildcats in the final.
• North Carolina is 79-29 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
• Former Tar Heel coach Karen Shelton holds the record for NCAA titles won by a single coach with 10. UNC has won more championships than any other program.
Heels vs. Hoos
• UNC leads the overall series vs. Virginia 64-19 and had won 12 matchups in a row prior to the Cavaliers' win last month. After falling 3-2 in the regular-season matchup, Carolina bounced back and won 3-2 in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Both games were in Charlottesville, Va.
• In the teams' regular-season meeting. UNC was up 2-0 at halftime with both goals by Ryleigh Heck before Virginia scored three consecutive third-quarter goals and held on for the win. Carolina held an 8-0 edge in shots in the first half and an 11-4 advantage for the game.
• UNC and UVA have met in the past two ACC Championships. In 2022 in Durham, Carolina won 3-2 to claim its sixth-consecutive conference crown and 25th overall. In 2021, in Syracuse, N.Y., UNC won 1-0 on a third-quarter penalty corner goal scored by Erin Matson.
• Seven of the last eight meetings have been decided by a goal with two of those going into overtime.
• The teams last met in NCAA Tournament play in 2010, also in the semifinals. In College Park, Md., UNC won 4-3 in overtime to advance to the championship, where the Tar Heels fell to host Maryland 3-2 in double OT. That year marked the last time – other than UNC's 2020-21 Covid title – that a team earned a spot in a final four it was hosting.
Gameday eve 🏑#GoHeels | #NCAAFH pic.twitter.com/KEx4og6dGe
— UNC Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) November 17, 2023
No. 1 UNC is the top seed in the NCAA Tournament field and comes into the game at 16-3. The Tar Heels advanced to the semifinals with wins over William & Mary (6-1 in the first round) and Harvard (4-2 in the second round), both at KSS.
It's the third time the Tar Heels and Cavaliers have met in the past month, with both previous matchups in Charlottesville and each team winning one. In the most recent meeting, on Nov. 1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals, Carolina won 3-2 to earn a spot in the conference championship game.
The Tar Heels have also faced Duke twice in the past month, once in Chapel Hill and once in Charlottesville in the ACC final. Carolina has won both of those meetings. UNC is less familiar with the one non-ACC team in the field, the Northwestern Wildcats. Carolina and Northwestern last met in the 2022 NCAA Championship game, with UNC winning 2-1.
Tickets to the game are sold out. A very limited number of tickets will be available free to students at the gate. Limited standing-room tickets could be available on game day.
This is the third time Carolina has hosted the field hockey final four. In 1987, the Tar Heels lost to Maryland in overtime in the final. In May of 2021, for the Covid-delayed 2020 championship, UNC beat Michigan in overtime.
UNC is the defending NCAA champion and is playing for the 11th crown in program history.
UNC in the NCAA Tourney
• The Tar Heels are making a record 40th appearance in the NCAA Tournament field. Friday's game will be UNC's 109th in NCAA Tournament play, also a record.
• The Tar Heels have 79 NCAA Tournament wins, more than any other school. Maryland is second with 69 and Old Dominion is third with 50.
• The Tar Heels are making their 27th final four trip. They had appeared in the NCAA semifinals 12 years in a row before being knocked out in the first round in 2021 (by eventual-champion Northwestern). UNC was back in the final four in 2022 and went on to win the title, beating the Wildcats in the final.
• North Carolina is 79-29 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
• Former Tar Heel coach Karen Shelton holds the record for NCAA titles won by a single coach with 10. UNC has won more championships than any other program.
Heels vs. Hoos
• UNC leads the overall series vs. Virginia 64-19 and had won 12 matchups in a row prior to the Cavaliers' win last month. After falling 3-2 in the regular-season matchup, Carolina bounced back and won 3-2 in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Both games were in Charlottesville, Va.
• In the teams' regular-season meeting. UNC was up 2-0 at halftime with both goals by Ryleigh Heck before Virginia scored three consecutive third-quarter goals and held on for the win. Carolina held an 8-0 edge in shots in the first half and an 11-4 advantage for the game.
• UNC and UVA have met in the past two ACC Championships. In 2022 in Durham, Carolina won 3-2 to claim its sixth-consecutive conference crown and 25th overall. In 2021, in Syracuse, N.Y., UNC won 1-0 on a third-quarter penalty corner goal scored by Erin Matson.
• Seven of the last eight meetings have been decided by a goal with two of those going into overtime.
• The teams last met in NCAA Tournament play in 2010, also in the semifinals. In College Park, Md., UNC won 4-3 in overtime to advance to the championship, where the Tar Heels fell to host Maryland 3-2 in double OT. That year marked the last time – other than UNC's 2020-21 Covid title – that a team earned a spot in a final four it was hosting.
Players Mentioned
Forward
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