The road to the field hockey national championship in 2023 runs through Chapel Hill. Fresh off its ACC Tournament title, Carolina was named the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, meaning the Tar Heels will host their first- and second-round games.

In addition, the national semifinals and championship this season are being held at Karen Shelton Stadium, meaning Carolina could potentially play four consecutive home games en route to the program’s 11th national title.

This is the second consecutive year and fifth time in the last six years Carolina is the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. It’s also the program’s 40th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the most nationwide.

“We’re excited for an opportunity keep playing and to do so at home – we always love an opportunity to play in front of our home crowd,” said head coach Erin Matson. “By this point in the season, everyone who is still playing is a tough matchup, and whichever team we’ll play is no exception. We’ll know on Wednesday who our next opponent will be and either way we have our work cut out for us this week.”

UNC will face the winner of a play-in game between William & Mary and Sacred Heart, which will be played Wednesday in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels will open up play on Friday at noon. No. 2 Northwestern, No. 3 Duke and No. 4 Maryland are the other national seeds in the field. For a full look at the bracket, click here.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati


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