Dream Season The 2018 Tar Heels finished the season 23-0, claiming the program’s seventh national title and 21st Atlantic Coast Conference crown. UNC led the NCAA stats in scoring average, scoring margin, winning percentage and goals against average, never allowing more than two goals in a game and earning 10 shutouts, including a 2-0 win over Maryland in the NCAA title game. Fast Facts on UNC 2018 record: 23-0 (6-0 ACC) NFHCA poll ranking: 1st (11/6, final) Head Coach: Karen Shelton (38th season at UNC) Record at UNC and overall: 669-164-9 Staff: Grant Fulton, Associate Head Coach; Mark Atherton, Assistant 2018 UNC Field Hockey Results Coach; Jackie Briggs Volunteer Assistant Coach; Gab Major, Student Date Opponent Site Result Assistant Coach ACC-Big Ten Challenge Team Captains: Ashley Hoffman (captain), Marissa Creatore (vice captain) Aug. 25 Michigan Chapel Hill W, 5-1 ACC Titles: 21 (1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, Aug. 26 Iowa Chapel Hill W, 2-1 OT 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018) Conference Crossover NCAA Titles: Seven (1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2007, 2009, 2018) Aug. 31 vs. Princeton Philadelphia W, 1-0 Conference: Atlantic Coast Sept. 2 At Penn Philadelphia W, 8-0 Home Stadium: Karen Shelton Stadium (Cap. 1,000) Sept. 7 At Louisville * Louisville, Ky. W, 3-1 Sept. 8 Vs. California Louisville, Ky. W, 6-0 Quick Hits Sept. 11 Appalachian State Chapel Hill W, 6-0 • Six Tar Heels wrapped up their UNC careers in the NCAA Championship Sept. 21 At Duke * Durham, N.C. W, 2-0 game. Malin Evert, Morgan Goetz, Mary Kathryn Harrah, Ashley Hoffman Sept. 26 Virginia * Chapel Hill W, 3-0 and Eva van’t Hoog all were four-year players, and Leila Evans had a Sept. 29 Syracuse * Chapel Hill W, 5-1 remaining year of eligibility but was a senior academically. Hoffman Sept. 30 Ball State Chapel Hill W, 9-0 graduated in December with a degree in sociology and the others graduated Oct. 6 Wake Forest * Chapel Hill W, 5-1 in May. Oct. 7 At Liberty Lynchburg, Va. W, 7-1 • Ashley Hoffman received the 2018-19 Mary Garber Award as the Atlantic Oct. 12 At Boston College * Newton, Mass. W, 4-1 Coast Conference Female Athlete of the Year. She’s the first Tar Heel to win Oct. 14 vs. Connecticut Newton, Mass. W, 2-1 since 2013 and the first Carolina field hockey player ever to claim the honor. • Hoffman also was the winner of the Honda Sport Award for field hockey Oct. 21 Duke Chapel Hill W, 5-2 as national player of the year. She’s the fourth Tar Heel to win the award, on Oct. 28 At Old Dominion Norfolk, Va. W, 3-0 the fifth occasion. She also won UNC’s Patterson Medal and is the fifth field * – Atlantic Coast Conference games hockey player to claim that honor, which is the most prestigious athletic honor at Carolina. 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship • UNC swept the 2018 ACC individual honors, with senior Ashley Hoffman Nov. 2 Virginia (Semifinals) Chapel Hill W, 5-1 named ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row; Erin Nov. 4 Wake (Championship) Chapel Hill W, 7-2 Matson named Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year as the first player to win both honors in the same season; and Karen Shelton named 2018 NCAA Division I Championship Coach of the Year for the 10th time. Nov. 9 William & Mary Chapel Hill W, 4-0 • UNC ranked No. 1 for the final nine weeks of the season, after moving Nov. 11 Michigan Chapel Hill W, 5-2 into the top spot on Sept. 11. The Tar Heels were No. 2 to defending champion Nov. 16 Wake Forest Louisville, Ky. W, 4-1 UConn in the preseason poll and the first weekly poll of the fall before talking Nov. 18 Maryland Louisville, Ky. W, 2-0 over the No. 1 position. The Nov. 6 poll was the final one of the 2018 season. • UNC finished the season undefeated for the first time since 2007 and for just the third time in program history. The first time was in 1995, when the Tar Heels finished 24-0. UNC also was 24-0 in 2007. UNC Athletic Communications • The 2018 season marked the 15th time in program history that UNC Field Hockey Contact: Dana Gelin completed the ACC regular season without a loss. The Tar Heels finished [email protected] • 919-455-8289 ACC play 6-0, the first time since 2012 they’ve won every conference game. • UNC led the nation in scoring average (4.5 goals per game), scoring Classroom Success margin (3.76) and goals against average (0.69). Amanda Hendry led the The 2018 Tar Heels posted the best semester team GPA in program nation in GAA (0.69). history – 3.36 in the fall semester – while winning NCAA and Atlantic • UNC was outshot just twice during the season: in the NCAA title game Coast Conference titles with a perfect 23-0 season. Carolina earned an (Maryland led 9-8) and at BC on Oct. 12 (BC 9-8). UNC was outcornered NFHCA National Academic Team Award in recognition of a team GPA six times, including both the NCAA semifinal and championship games. above 3.0 during the fall semester. • UNC dedicated Karen Shelton Stadium in a ceremony prior to the • Freshmen Cassie Halpin and Abby Pitcairn, both biology majors, were Oct. 6 game vs. Wake Forest. The school announced Sept. 24 that its new named NFHCA Scholars of Distinction field hockey stadium would be called Karen Shelton Stadium. It’s the first • The two were among 14 Tar Heels named to the NFHCA National Carolina athletic playing facility to be named in honor of a woman. Academic Squad (cumulative grade point average of 3.3 through the fall • Two newcomers – freshman Erin Matson and junior transfer Yentl Leemans semester). Tar Heels honored were Bryn Boylan, Leila Evans, Malin – were part of the starting lineup for all 23 games. Freshmen Hannah Griggs Evert, Morgan Goetz, Feline Guenther, Cassie Halpin, Catherine Hayden, and Abby Pitcairn played in every game, with Pitcairn starting in the Oct. 21 Julia Herrington, Erin Matson, Abby Pitcairn, Megan Ragusa, Meredith home game against Duke. Sholder, Eva Smolenaars and Cassie Sumfest. • UNC planned to play 18 regular-season games but lost one of them • Eight members of the team followed their NCAA Championship season because of Hurricane Florence. The Tar Heels were slated to host Virginia and with All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic honors. Marissa Creatore, James Madison on Sept. 14 and 16, the weekend the storm hit. Both games Malin Evert, Morgan Goetz, Feline Guenther, Catherine Hayden, Ashley were initially postponed and the Virginia game was made up 10 days later, but Hoffman, Erin Matson and Cassie Sumfest were named to the 41-member JMU was not rescheduled. academic squad, giving UNC the highest total in the conference. Tar Heels in the NCAA Tournament Tar Heels Honored as Top Staff • UNC made a record 35th appearance in the NCAA Tournament field. On the heels of an undefeated season and an NCAA Championship, The championship game was Carolina’s 94th in NCAA Tournament play, the North Carolina field hockey coaching staff was recognized as the top also a record. staff in the nation. Head coach Karen Shelton, Associate Head Coach • UNC played as the No. 1 seed in the field for the first time since 2014. Grant Fulton and Assistant Coach Mark Atherton were announced as the • The Tar Heels have 66 NCAA Tournament wins, more than any other Spiideo/NFHCA National Coaching Staff of the Year in January at the school. Maryland is second with 63 and Old Dominion is third with 50. National Field Hockey Coaches Association convention in Lake Mary, • North Carolina is 66-28 all time in NCAA Tournament play. Fla. • UNC was the 11th team to enter the NCAA Tournament field without The 2018 season was Shelton’s 38th at UNC. It was the 14th for Fulton a loss or a tie. Six of the previous 10 (including two Carolina teams, 1995 and the third for Atherton. The staff also included volunteer assistant and 2007) went on to win national championships. coach Jackie Briggs and student assistant coach Gab Major. • UNC hosted NCAA Tournament first and second-round games in 2018 for the 20th time in program history, the first time since 2015 and the Hoffman Caps Career with Honors first-ever at Shelton Stadium. The Tar Heels also hosted this year’s ACC Ashley Hoffman was selected for the Mary Garber Award as the Atlantic Tournament, making Friday’s NCAA semifinal UNC’s first postseason Coast Conference Female Athlete of the Year. She is the eighth Tar Heel game away from home this fall. to win the honor, the first since Crystal Dunn in 2013. She’s the first Tar • The Tar Heels are 28-2 in NCAA Tournament games played in Chapel Heel field hockey player ever to win. She also was the female winner of Hill. UNC’s Patterson Medal, the most prestigious athletic honor awarded at • UNC played in the championship game for the 18th time in program North Carolina. history, more than any other school. The Tar Heels are 7-11 in finals She also was the 2018 Honda Sport Award winner for field hockey, a appearances. first-team All-America and All-ACC selection, and member of the All- • UNC made its 23rd appearance in the NCAA semifinals.