Heels Face Blue Devils In NCAA Tourney Second Round

Sunday, November 17

Chapel Hill, N.C.

Noon

North Carolina

Duke (NCAA Second Round)

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

November 16, 2024 | Field Hockey

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina field hockey team squares off with rival Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. It will be the fifth all time meeting between the program in NCAA postseason play.

Opening hit is scheduled for noon with coverage coming on ESPN+. Tickets are available here or at the gate. UNC students who show their OneCard will be admitted free, while supplies last.

Noting the Tar Heels
• The Tar Heels came away with a 4-0 victory over Delaware on Friday to advance out of the first round of the NCAA Championship.
• UNC's four goals came from unexpected sources. Katie Dixon, Ciana Riccardo, Lisa Slinkert, and Sietske Brüning, who had combined for just 13 on the year prior, show why the Tar Heel attack is so difficult to defend.
• On the defensive end, the Carolina back line allowed zero shots and no corners to the Blue Hens. It's only the fifth time in NCAA tournament history that a team has been held without a shot, most recently happening when the Heels held William & Mary to none in their second-round matchup in 2018. It was the 11th shutout of the year for the Tar Heels.
• Carolina claimed their 27th ACC title last week with a 4-1 win over Boston College. It was UNC's eighth conference championship in a row.
• Bruder's five goals during the ACC Championship helped her earn tournament MVP honors before also being named the NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week, giving her four weekly awards on the year.
• She now sits in a tie with for the 8th most goals in a year in program history and needs just one more score to tie her head coach's tallies from her final two campaigns at 27, which would put her in a five way tie for the 4th most all-time.
• Bruder and Ryleigh Heck continue to be the class of the ACC. Bruder leads the conference in goals (26, also best in the nation), shots (124), and points (55). Heck leads in assists (15) while sitting in second in shots on goal (53) and points (41).
• The Heels lead the nation in goals per game (4.05), assists per game (3.68), points per game (11.79), scoring average (4.28), scoring margin (3.78), penalty corners per game (9.58) and goals against average (0.5).
• Senior goalkeeper Abigail Taylor's 0.46 goals against average is the best in the country.

Heels v. Devils
• Sunday's game is the 98th all time meeting between UNC and Duke. Carolina leads the series 85-12 and has won 14 of the last 16.
• Last time they met: Nov. 1, 2024. The Heels finished off an undefeated regular season and claimed the ACC regular season title with a 5-2 win over Duke.
• The game saw goals from five different Heels, including the second of the season for Avery Donahue.
• These rivals last met in the postseason in last year's ACC title game, where Carolina won 2-0 thanks to goals from Ryleigh Heck and Charly Bruder.
• It was the first conference title for Erin Matson as a head coach, after having won five in her time as a player.
• The programs have met four times in NCAA tournament play, with UNC winning three. Most recently facing in 2015 in a 2-0 win for Carolina.

UNC in the NCAA Tournament
• The Tar Heels come into this postseason chasing their third consecutive and 12th overall national championship, the most by any program in the sport's history.
• UNC comes into the tournament as the top seed for the third year in a row and the sixth time in the past seven years.
• Recent history especially has been all Carolina. The team has claimed five of the last six titles to overtake Old Dominion for the most all-time.
• Much of that recent success can be attributed to the arrival of Erin Matson to Chapel Hill. The "goat of field hockey" won four titles in five years as a player before winning once again last season in her first as the head coach.
• Matson also holds the NCAA tournament career records for most points scored with 54 and most goals with 23.
• She took over for the legendary Karen Shelton, who won 10 times in her 42 years in charge. She holds the records for the most NCAA titles won by a single coach, most tournament appearances (39), games coached (106), and games won (77).
• The Heels are making a record 41st appearance in the NCAA tournament field. Friday's game will be UNC's 111th in tournament play, also a record.
• Carolina has won 82 games in the NCAA tournament, more than any other school. Maryland is second with 69 and Old Dominion is third with 50. UCONN at 47 rounds out the only four teams with more than 40 wins.
• North Carolina is 82-29 all-time in the tournament, holding the record for the best winning percentage (.739).
• UNC has the most championship round appearances with 27.
• UNC is 8-9 in games that make it to overtime.
• The program has been the No. 1 seeded team on 12 different occasions since seeding began in 1997, having done so six more times than the next closest team (Maryland).
• In those 12 tournaments as the top seed, Carolina has come away with eight national championships and holds a 38-4 record.
• The team is currently on an nine game NCAA tournament winning streak, tied for the seventh longest of all time. Wake Forest holds the records with 14.