Field Hockey Kicks Off 2026 Season With ACC/Big Ten Challenge

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Carolina field hockey takes to the turf in 2026 for its 53rd season of competition, ready to deliver the beautiful, attacking and fundamentally sound hockey it's made its standard. Fourteen returnees welcome eight newcomers (seven freshmen, one transfer) to their ranks as the team chases a 10th straight (and 29th overall) ACC Tournament title and a 12th national championship.

Newly elected captains Charly Bruder and Grace Pottebaum bring a veteran presence to a lineup that returns six regular starters from last year's squad. Bruder and the offense will rely on some new faces to contribute this year, as the Heels will need to replace 67% of its scoring from 2025.

SCHEDULE
Game 1: vs. #14 Michigan - Friday, August 28 – 3:30 PM ET – ACCNX – Live Stats
Game 2: vs. #11 Iowa - Sunday, August 30 – 11 AM ET – ACCNX – Live Stats

#2 North Carolina Tar Heels (0-0)( ACC)
Head Coach: Erin Matson
Record at UNC: 59-6
Record vs. Michigan: 3-0
Record vs. Iowa: 2-1

#14 Michigan Wolverines (0-0)( ACC)
Head Coach: Kristi Gannon Fisher
Record at Michigan: 10-7
Record vs. UNC: 0-1

#11 Iowa Hawkeyes (0-0)(ACC)
Head Coach: Lisa Cellucci
Record at Iowa: 147-85
Record vs. UNC: 2-11

WELCOME TO THE GREATEST SHOW ON TURF
➤ The Tar Heels take great pride in their highly entertaining brand of hockey, touting their style as both a way to grow the game and fill their trophy cabinet.
➤ Carolina has been in the top-10 in the nation in goals per game for at least 17 straight seasons, leading the nation on four occasions (2018, '19, '22, '24).
➤ Of those 17 straight (as far back as the NCAA Stats database goes), the Heels topped the ACC 10 times.

BIG BASH BRUDER
➤ One of the sport's most prolific scorers is back for her fourth season in Carolina blue.
➤ A three time All-American, Char has produced at least 15 goals in all three of her campaigns. A 27 goal outburst in 2024 led the nation and was the fourth most by a Tar Heel in a single season all-time (tied with Matson's junior and senior campaigns)
➤ Other accolades on her resume include three All-ACC and All-South Region selections and 2024 ACC Tourney MVP honors after scoring five times in three games.
➤ The Malvern, Pa., native enters 2026 already firmly among the top-10 goals leaders in program history and will soon crack the top-10 list for points as well.

GUIDED BY THE GOAT
➤ Head coach Erin Matson heads in to her fourth season at the helm of the program she spent five years leading on the field. As a player, she won four national championships, three Honda Awards, and five ACC titles.
➤ Often referred to as "the Michael Jordan of field hockey," Matson is still the all-time scoring leader in ACC and NCAA Tournament history.
➤ She led the NCAA in goals per game each of her final four seasons on the field.
➤ She is the only player in any sport to earn ACC Player of the Year five times and holds the Carolina career records for goals, assists, and points.
➤ The 2024 ACC Coach of the Year became the youngest head coach in the ACC in any sport to win a national title when she captured the title in her inaugural season in 2023.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
➤ The regular season for the Heels features 17 games before postseason play begins in November when they host the 2026 ACC Tournament in Chapel Hill.
➤ The campaign kicks off as it always does with the annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge Carolina has started its season against the Wolverines and Hawkeyes every year since 2002 with only two exceptions, holding a combined 37-7 record.
➤ Another annual showdown comes next with the Conference Crossover weekend featuring games against Penn and Princeton. It will be the 10th time in the last 11 years UNC has faced that pairing in the second weekend of the season. The Tar Heels have won 18 straight in that run.
➤ UNC has nine of the preseason NFHCA top-20 on its schedule, with four of those to be played at home.

PRESEASON POP
➤ Carolina was voted the Atlantic Coast Conference's preseason favorite by the league's coaches once again in 2026, receiving four first place votes.
➤ It marks the 13th time in the last 14 years the Heels have been awarded the designation.
➤ Charly Bruder was the lone Tar Heel to make the Preseason All-ACC team, the fewest honorees to start the year for UNC since preseason honors were first handed out in 2008.

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Players Mentioned

Charly Bruder

Grace Pottebaum

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University of North Carolina Athletics