After an up-and-down beginning to the season that saw the UNC field hockey team start 2-2, the newest National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll released Tuesday has the Tar Heels ranked No. 4.
Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll — Week 1
The headline: @umichfldhockey takes the top spot for the first time in coaches poll history.
Review the full top-25: https://t.co/vQJeQwq04F pic.twitter.com/mb1V8NJQLd
— NFHCA (@NFHCA) September 7, 2021
The Tar Heels still received five first-place votes, but predictably dropped three spots from their preseason No. 1 ranking after losing their first two games of the season. The teams that beat them, Michigan and Iowa, sit at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. The Wolverines received 25 first-place votes.
Also ahead of the Tar Heels are ACC foes Boston College. The Eagles began the year ranked No. 7, but moved up four spots after starting their season a perfect 4-0, including wins over No. 25 Maine, No. 7 Maryland and No. 5 Northwestern.
Other ACC schools featured in the poll are No. 6 Louisville, No. 10 Virginia, No. 14 Wake Forest, No. 16 Syracuse and No. 18 Duke. The Tar Heels will face each of those teams this season, and all but three of the team’s remaining opponents are currently ranked. You can see the full poll here.
Carolina won’t open its ACC schedule until it hosts Boston College on September 24, but still faces a challenging game this week. The Tar Heels will visit Philadelphia to take on No. 17 St. Joseph’s on Friday, September 10.
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