Setting the Scene Following a 4-0 victory against fourth-ranked and top-seeded Virginia in 2017 UNC Field Hockey Schedule Friday’s semifinals, North Carolina will play for the 2017 ACC title on Sunday. Date Opponent Site Time/Result The No. 6 Tar Heels, seeded fifth in the bracket, meet No. 10 Louisville, the tournament’s third seed, in the final at 1 p.m. at the Cardinals’ Trager Stadium. ACC-Big Ten Challenge UNC (15-4) is making its 24th appearance in the championship game and Aug. 26 Vs. Michigan Iowa City, Iowa L, 3-2 playing for its 20th title. Carolina’s last title came in 2015, with an overtime win over Syracuse in the final. Aug. 27 At Iowa Iowa City, Iowa W, 3-0 Louisville (14-6) is making its first appearance in the title game. The Sept. 1 At Princeton Princeton, N.J. W, 2-0 Cardinals joined the league in 2014. Sept. 3 At Penn Philadelphia, Pa. W, 3-1 Sept. 8 At Wake Forest * Winston-Salem, N.C. L, 3-1 Fast Facts on UNC Sept. 10 At App. St. Boone, N.C. W, 6-1 2017 record: 15-4 overall (3-3 ACC) Final 2016 record: 20-6 (3-3 ACC), ACC runner-up, NCAA runner-up Sept. 16 Boston College * Durham, N.C. W, 2-1 OT NFHCA poll ranking: 6th (Oct. 31 poll) Sept. 17 James Madison Durham, N.C. W, 3-0 Head Coach: Karen Shelton (37th season at UNC) Sept. 19 Davidson Durham, N.C. W, 10-0 Record at UNC and overall: 643-163-9 Staff: Grant Fulton, Associate Head Coach; Mark Atherton, Assistant Sept. 23 At Syracuse * Syracuse, N.Y. W, 3-2 OT Coach; Kate Kinnear, Volunteer Assistant Coach Sept. 24 At Albany Albany, N.Y. W, 2-1 OT Team Co-captains: Gab Major, Ashley Hoffman Oct. 1 Old Dominion Durham, N.C. W, 3-1 ACC Titles: 19 (1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015) Oct. 6 At Virginia * Charlottesville, Va. W, 4-0 NCAA Titles: Six (1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2007, 2009) Oct. 14 Louisville * Durham, N.C. L, 3-2 Conference: Atlantic Coast Oct. 15 At VCU Richmond, Va. W, 4-1 Home Stadium: Competing in 2017 at Duke’s Williams Field at Jack Katz Oct. 20 Duke * Durham, N.C. L, 3-2 Stadium (Address: 20 Brodie Gym Dr., Durham, NC 27708) while an on- campus stadium is under construction Oct. 29 At Liberty Lynchburg, Va. W, 6-4 * – Atlantic Coast Conference games The Road Ahead All home games at Duke’s Williams Field at Jack Katz Sta- Nov. 4: ACC Championship final vs. Louisville, 1 p.m. dium in Durham, N.C. (Trager Stadium in Louisville, Ky.) 2017 NCAA bracket: Announced at 10 p.m. Sunday night 2017 ACC Championship Following the Tar Heels Nov. 2 Wake Forest Louisville, Ky. W, 3-2 Live stats: GoHeels.com Nov. 3 Virginia Louisville, Ky. W, 4-0 Live video: ESPN3, Regional Sports Networks Nov. 5 Louisville Louisville, Ky. 1 p.m. Twitter: @UNCFieldHockey 2017 NCAA Division I Championship Quick Hits Nov. 11 First Round Campus sites TBA • Junior Ashley Hoffman was announced on Wednesday as the 2017 ACC Nov. 12 Second Round Campus sites TBA Defensive Player of the Year. A UNC player – Julia Young – won in 2016 as Nov. 17 Semifinals Louisville, Ky. TBA well. Nov. 19 Championship Louisville, Ky. TBA • Hoffman and Eva van’t Hoog were named first-team All-ACC and Malin Evert was named to the second team. All three are juniors. • UNC has seven goals in the two ACC Tournament games, from seven different players. Those who have scored in the tournament are Ashley Hoffman (WFU), Feline Guenther (WFU), Marissa Creatore (WFU), Eef Andriessen (UVa), Malin Evert (UVa). Meredith Sholder (UVa) and Catherine UNC Athletic Communications Field Hockey Contact: Dana Gelin Hayden (UVa). [email protected] • 919-455-8289 • The Tar Heels’ 65 goals this season have come from 14 different players. Juniors Ashley Hoffman and Malin Evert lead the team in goals with 10 each, and senior Gab Major leads the team in assists with 13. Hoffman and Major lead the team in points with 25. 2017 Penn Monto/NFCHA Poll • UNC ranks second (to Virginia) in the ACC in every offensive category. Oct. 31 • Friday’s win over Virginia was UNC’s 50th of all time in ACC tournament play. The Tar First-place votes in parentheses Heels, 50-15 overall, have won more than twice as many tournament games as the team with 1. Connecticut (39) the second-highest wins total (Wake Forest with 24). • In 19 games this season, UNC has faced 13 ranked teams. 2. Duke (4) • UNC is the tournament’s No. 5 seed for the second year in a row. Last year the Tar Heels 3. Michigan reached the title game as the No. 5 seed before falling to Virginia. 4. Virginia (1) • UNC is playing in the ACC’s championship game for the second year in a row, the sixth 5. Penn State time in the past seven years and the 24th time overall. • The Tar Heels and Cardinals are meeting in the tournament for the third year in a row. 6. UNC UNC has won first-round matchups the past two seasons. 7. Maryland • UNC has won every game this season in which it has led at halftime. 8. Delaware • The 3-2 loss to Louisville on Oct. 14 marked the only time this season that the Tar Heels 9. Northwestern have scored first and not gone on to win. 10. Louisville • Carolina is 3-0 in overtime games this fall. • Carolina is No. 6 in this week’s NFHCA national coaches’ poll. The Tar Heels were No. 11. Syracuse 1 in the preseason poll and have been between fourth and seventh since the season began. 12. Boston College • UNC played all six of its designated home games this fall in Durham, N.C., at Duke’s 13. Wake Forest Williams Stadium at Jack Katz Field. The Tar Heels’ new on-campus stadium is under 14. Princeton construction and is slated to be ready for the 2018 season. 15. James Madison UNC’s Statistical Leaders 16. Harvard (Through 18 games) 17. Saint Joseph’s Goals: Ashley Hoffman 10, Malin Evert 10, Catherine Hayden 8, Meredith Sholder 7, 18. Stanford Marissa Creatore 6. Gab Major 6 19. William & Mary Assists: Major 13, Eva van’t Hoog 11 20. Boston University Points: Major 25, Hoffman 25, Evert 22, van’t Hoog 19, Hayden 19, Creatore 19 21. Albany This year vs. Louisville 22. Rutgers The Tar Heels and Cardinals met on Oct. 14 in Durham, N.C., where UNC played its 23. Iowa “home” games this fall. Louisville won 3-2 to claim its seventh victory in a row while 24. Pacific snapping an eight-game winning streak for UNC. The game was tied 1-1 at halftime and 2-2 25. Maine midway through the second half before Louisville took the lead for good in the 51st minute. Carolina got off more than twice as many shots as Louisville – 15 to seven for the game – but had just six shots and only one corner after halftime. 2017 Honors and Awards It remains the only game this season in which UNC has scored first and lost. Preseason All-ACC • UNC and Louisville are meeting in ACC Championship play for the third year in a row. Ashley Hoffman, Eva van’t Hoog They met in the first round in 2015 and 2016, with Carolina winning both times, 2-1 in 2015 in Charlottesville, Va., and 3-2 in 2016 in Winston-Salem, N.C. NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week Last time out: No. 6 UNC 4, No. 4 Virginia 0 Oct. 11: Ashley Hoffman LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fifth-seeded North Carolina used a team effort on both ends of the turf Friday to shut out top-seeded Virginia 4-0 and earn a spot in Sunday’s Atlantic Coast Conference NFHCA National Offense Player Field Hockey Championship title game. The Tar Heels (15-4) got goals from four different players – with no overlap to the three who scored in Thursday’s 3-2 quarterfinals win over Wake Forest of the Week – and earned their sixth shutout of the season, playing against one of the nation’s top offenses. Nov. 1: Malin Evert “I’m so proud of the Tar Heels,” said UNC coach Karen Shelton, who has coached UNC to 19 ACC titles during her 37 seasons at the program’s helm. “This was a great team effort today, ACC Defensive Player of the Week playing against an exceptional and very talented Virginia squad. We played hard and tough Sept. 19: Ashley Hoffman yesterday against Wake Forest and then turned it around quickly for today’s game.” Sept. 26: Amanda Hendry The Tar Heels will play in the title game for the third year in a row and the 24th time in the 35- Oct. 9: Ashley Hoffman year history of the event, taking on host Louisville, which is making its first-ever appearance in the finals. The Cardinals, seeded third in the tournament and ranked No. 10 nationally, beat Duke ACC Offensive Player of the Week in a shootout in Friday’s second semifinal to advance. UNC last won the ACC crown in 2015. A season ago, the Tar Heels finished as runner-up to Oct. 29: Malin Evert Virginia, which this year leads the ACC in every offensive category.