CHAPEL HILL – The North Carolina women’s soccer team is in the NCAA Tournament field once again, earning its first No. 1 seed in three years.  The Tar Heels will play host to Big South Conference champion Liberty Saturday at 2 p.m. in the first round of this year’s championship.

North Carolina enters the tournament with a 17-4 overall record while the Flames, who beat Radford in the Big South Conference Tournament final 5-0 on Sunday, is 16-5-1.

Gates to Fetzer Field will open this Saturday at 1 p.m.  Tentative ticket prices are $8 for adults, $5 for students and $3 for group tickets.

The defending NCAA champion Tar Heels are a No. 1 seed for the first time since 2010.  They won the title a year ago as a No. 2 seed.  All four No. 1 seeds in this year’s tournament come from the ACC – Virginia, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Florida State.  Virginia won the ACC regular-season championship and Florida State captured the ACC Tournament.

The marks the second straight year UNC has played the Big South Conference champion in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.  UNC beat Radford 2-0 in Chapel Hill last year in the opening game.

Carolina has won 21 of the previous 31 NCAA championships.  Carolina has been one of the top four seeds in every NCAA Tournament except 2000, 2011 and 2012.

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