For the fifth year in a row and the 18th time in program history, North Carolina has earned a spot in field hockey’s The third-ranked Tar Heels defeated No. 13 Wake Forest 5-2 Sunday in an NCAA Tournament second round game to advance to the NCAA semifinals. Carolina will face No. 4 Connecticut Friday in Norfolk, Va., on the campus of Old Dominion University.
UNC will depart Wednesday for Norfolk in preparation for Thursday’s practice session and Friday’s game. Maryland and Duke will meet in the first semifinal game, which is a rematch of one of last week’s ACC semifinal games, at 2 p.m. The game between UNC and UConn follows at 4:45 p.m. The Tar Heels and Huskies have already met on the L.R. Hill Sports Complex turf this season, in a neutral-side matchup on Oct. 26, which UNC won 2-1.
The Tar Heels are 18-5, while the Demon Deacons finished their season at 12-9. UNC is one of three Atlantic Coast Conference teams to make the final four, along with top-seeded Maryland and fourth-seeded Duke. UConn advanced by beating Michigan State, which scored a first-round upset against second-seeded Syracuse, the fourth ACC team hosting first and second-round games this weekend.
Published November 18, 2013.