CHAPEL HILL – As the North Carolina field hockey team continues preparations for NCAA Tournament play, it now can focus on a specific opponent. The third-ranked Tar Heels, 16-5 and seeded third in the NCAA field, will open play Saturday against No. 14 Delaware (17-4), which beat Liberty 1-0 Wednesday in a play-in game.

The Tar Heels and Blue Hens will face off Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Francis E. Henry Stadium, with a matchup between No. 6 Old Dominion and No. 13 Wake Forest following at 2 p.m. In the single-elimination format, the first-round winners will meet Sunday at 2 p.m. for a spot in the national semifinals

“We’re excited to get back in action on Saturday and excited to face Delaware,” said UNC coach Karen Shelton, who will coach in the NCAA Tournament for the 30th time. “After a tough weekend of ACC play, we got a little rest in the early part of this week and now that we know who we’ll play, we’ll able to focus on our next opponent. We know we have a challenge ahead of us in facing Delaware, but we can’t wait to play and we’re thrilled to be playing at home at Henry Stadium.”

Tickets to the games are $5 and will be available at the Henry Stadium gate.

UNC last played on Sunday, when the Tar Heels fell 2-0 to No. 1 Maryland in the ACC Tournament championship game, hosted by Boston College in Newton, Mass. To reach the title game, Carolina beat Wake Forest in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Syracuse in the semis.

When the NCAA bracket was announced on Sunday night, all four of the top seeds and host sites belonged to the ACC. Maryland is the No. 1 seed in the field, followed by first-year ACC member Syracuse at No. 2, UNC at No. 3 and Duke at No. 4. The other three conference teams – Virginia, Wake and Boston College – also made the field.

For the full bracket, click here.

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