The UNC field hockey team will play for the national championship for the second consecutive year. The No. 1 Tar Heels defeated Virginia in the national semifinals on Friday in Chapel Hill, smothering the Cavalier offense in a 2-0 win.

“Our girls battled that entire game. It was a fight,” said head coach Erin Matson. “There’s nothing like playing on our home field, in front of our home crowd. They made it – as we expected – an incredible atmosphere.”

Ryleigh Heck and Sietske Brüning each scored in the first half for Carolina. Heck’s goal in the opening quarter came as the Cavaliers were controlling most of the possession. Virginia outshot the Tar Heels 3-1 in the first 15 minutes and forced two saves out of UNC goalie Maddie Kahn, but Carolina made its lone chance count. Brüning doubled the advantage midway through the second quarter.

After halftime, Carolina clamped down on the Virginia offense and didn’t allow a shot in the entire third quarter. The Cavaliers pulled their goalie with five minutes remaining, but still were not able to threaten Kahn in the UNC cage. The Tar Heels stopped all five of Virginia’s penalty corner attempts on the day.

“Our defense shut them down,” Matson said. “They came up with great tackles. There’s not even one person I can call out, because… they all came up in big moments when they needed to.”

With the win, Carolina advances to the national championship game on Sunday, which will also be played at Karen Shelton Stadium. The Tar Heels will face the winner of No. 2 Northwestern and No. 3 Duke.

“We’re not done yet,” said senior back Romea Riccardo. “We celebrate for five minutes, and then we go back to seeing who we play. We look for the next one… yes, we’re going to the national championship, but we haven’t done [expletive] yet.”

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
UNC Field Hockey Falls to Northwestern in Overtime in NCAA Final Four
Northwestern scored 9:23 into sudden-victory overtime to cap off a comeback win and beat UNC 4-3 at the NCAA Final Four in Durham Friday afternoon. The Wildcats hadn’t led all day, as Carolina raced out to a 2-0 lead inside 15 minutes thanks to goals from sisters Ryleigh and Kara Heck. Though Northwestern closed the […]
UNC Field Hockey Beats Duke in Overtime to Advance to Final Four
Sanne Hak scored the game-winning goal off a penalty corner in sudden-victory overtime against Duke to send UNC through to the Final Four Sunday at Karen Shelton Stadium. The 2-1 win is Carolina’s third against the Blue Devils this season, two of which have come in overtime. THREE TIMES DOWNING THE DEVILS!! AND WE'RE HEADED […]
UNC Field Hockey Escapes Saint Joseph's in NCAA Tournament 1st Round
Despite a spirited effort from underdog Saint Joseph’s, UNC escaped with a 2-1 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Karen Shelton Stadium Friday afternoon. The Tar Heels are now through to Sunday’s second round, where they will await the winner of Iowa and Duke. Won the battle. More war to come!#GoHeels […]
UNC Field Hockey Earns No. 1 Overall Seed in 2025 NCAA Tournament
Carolina is once again the No. 1 team in the country entering the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels earned the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed Sunday night for the fourth consecutive year. Top seed. Not satisfied. The Heels host the NCAA First & Second Rounds once again. pic.twitter.com/Xer4W9IYtK — Carolina Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) November 10, […]
UNC Field Hockey Defeats Northwestern in Penalty Strokes, Wins 11th National Title
Carolina won, lost, and won again the program’s 11th national championship. In front of a standing-room-only shootout at Karen Shelton Stadium, No. 1 UNC battled No. 2 Northwestern through regulation, two sudden-death overtimes and six rounds of penalty strokes to claim its second consecutive title and fifth in the last six seasons, 2-1. UNC head […]
UNC Field Hockey Downs Harvard, Advances to National Semifinals
The UNC field hockey team fought past a tough Harvard team in the NCAA quarterfinals in Chapel Hill on Sunday, defeating the Crimson 4-2 to advance to the Final Four. Carolina’s Karen Shelton Stadium will host the national semifinals and championship next weekend. 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 💥#GoHeels | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/Ob2Ub63NTM — UNC Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) […]
UNC Field Hockey Dominates William & Mary in NCAA Tournament 1st Round
The No. 1 UNC field hockey team’s NCAA title defense is off to a flying start. The Tar Heels dominated William & Mary in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon, defeating the Tribe 6-1 at Karen Shelton Stadium. Marching on ➡️#GoHeels | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/wXga2tXqwr — UNC Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) November 10, 2023 […]
UNC Field Hockey Named No. 1 Overall Seed in 2023 NCAA Tournament
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 […]
UNC Field Hockey Completes Perfect Season With Program's 10th NCAA Title
The UNC field hockey team won its 10th NCAA title and fourth in the last five years Sunday, defeating Northwestern 2-1 in the national championship. The win completes a perfect 21-0 season for the Tar Heels and also avenges the team’s most recent loss, which came against the Wildcats in last season’s NCAA Tournament. 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 […]
UNC Field Hockey Advances to Program's 26th Final Four
The UNC field hockey team kept the good times rolling in its final home game of the year, defeating Saint Joseph’s 5-2 on Sunday to advance to the program’s 26th Final Four, the most all-time in Division 1 field hockey. 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗!#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/Y0dJvoNjpg — UNC Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) November 13, 2022 UNC […]
›