Field Hockey On The Road Again For Conference Crossover

PRINCETON, N.J. - Carolina field hockey hits the road once again for a quick jump up to the Garden State for the Conference Crossover where they will face Penn and the hosts No. 10 Princeton. The annual doubleheader with the Quakers and Tigers began in 2016. UNC is 16-0 in those matchups.

SCHEDULE
Game 1: Penn - Friday, September 5 - 3:30 PM ET
Game 2: #10 Princeton - Sunday, September 7 - 1:30 PM ET - ESPN+
All games played at Bedford Field.

SCOUTING REPORT
vs. Quakers
➤ Friday's game will be the 9th all-time meeting between the two programs.
➤ Carolina remains unbeaten against the Quakers, holding a scoring margin of 45-4 and having never trailed in any of the eight contests.
➤ Last time they met: The Heels rolled to a 5-0 win over Penn this time last year, getting goals from Ryleigh Heck (2), Pleun Lammers, Sietske Brüning, and Charly Bruder while maintaining the shutout. UNC out shot Penn 25-3, forcing 10 saves, and logging 15 corners on the day.
➤ Head coach Erin Matson and three of her players come from Pennsylvania. Both Matson and Bruder hail from about an hour away from Penn's campus.

vs. Tigers
➤ Sunday's game will be the 20th all-time meeting between the two programs.
➤ Carolina has won the last 11 showdowns, last losing to the Tigers Nov. 18, 2012 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
➤ Last time they met: UNC took a 2-0 victory in last season's meeting thanks to third quarter goals from Jasmina Smolenaars and Charly Bruder. Princeton was one of just three teams to keep the Heels off the board in the first half of a game in 2024.
➤ Five members of the current Tar Heels roster hail from New Jersey. Freshman Jenna Narleski will be the closest to home, with Basking Ridge about a 50 minute drive from campus.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
11 - Carolina owns the most national titles in the country with 11. The Heels have won five of the last seven.
6 - Transfer Dani Mendez made an impact right away, logging a team-high six points in her first weekend in Carolina blue.
670 - UNC trailed early against Iowa, their first regular season deficit since 670 days earlier on Oct. 31, 2023.
48 - With a pair of goals opening weekend, Ryleigh Heck has 48 in her career. She now sits just 8 shy of cracking the program's top-10.

STRONG START IN THE HAWKEYE STATE
➤ Carolina traveled to the heart of the Midwest for their annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchups against Michigan and Iowa. The Heels improved to 37-7 in the history of the contest with a pair of convincing wins.
➤ Friday afternoon held game one against No. 7 Michigan, where head coach Erin Matson's team came away with a 3-0 shutout victory over the Wolverines.
➤ Newly voted captain and reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year Ryleigh Heck was the first to put her name on the ledger of the 2025 season, scoring off an incisive long ball from true freshman Isabel Boere early in the first quarter. It was all Heels from there, as Sanne Hak and transfer Kara Heck scored to secure the win.
➤ Sunday's contest with the host Hawkeyes started unusually for Carolina, giving up the first goal in a game for just the fourth time in the Matson era. The team responded nicely, scoring four unanswered to take the game.
➤ Virginia transfer midfielder Dani Mendez was the star on Sunday. She scored to tie it, assisted on the go-ahead, and then scored again to seal the deal.

BACK, BACK AGAIN
➤ Carolina Field Hockey returns to the turf for its 52nd season, looking to reach the summit of the sport once again. The Tar Heels come in to 2025 with a team full of new faces anchored by a core of veterans.
➤ 13 letterwinners from the 2024 ACC Championship team are gone, replaced by 11 newcomers in the form of eight true freshmen and three transfers.
➤ ACC Offensive Player of the Year and 2023 Honda Award winner Ryleigh Heck enters her senior season on the precipice of the all-time program top-10 lists for goals (10 shy), assists (15 shy), and points (17 shy).
➤ Heck and fellow senior Sietske Brüning will captain the Tar Heels in 2025.

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Players Mentioned

Isabel Boere

Charly Bruder

Sanne Hak

Kara Heck

Ryleigh Heck

Pleun Lammers

Dani Mendez

Jenna Narleski

Jasmina Smolenaars