A 5-2 victory over the No. 8 Michigan Wolverines on Sunday at Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill lifted the top-ranked UNC field hockey team to its 10th consecutive NCAA Final Four appearance.

The Tar Heels also improved to 21-0 so far in 2018, as they are now just two wins away from capping off a perfect season.

Senior Ashley Hoffman scored twice for the second game in a row, with Malin Evert, Feline Guenther and Megan DuVernois adding the other three goals.

Both of Hoffman’s goals came in the first half, which helped the Tar Heels build a 3-1 lead at the break.

Guenther and DuVernois were responsible for UNC’s second-half insurance goals. Those turned out to be quite important, with Michigan peppering the goal with 12 shots in the half after recording just one before the break.

“I’ve always felt like the  game to get you to the Final Four is the hardest one to win,” Tar Heel head coach Karen Shelton said. “For us this year, not being in the top four would have been a disappointment. So we’re really happy to get there, so we can celebrate with three other good teams and then one team will  be  left standing, the team that plays the  best.”

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will now get set to travel to Louisville for the Final Four, where they will meet ACC foe Wake Forest for the third time this season as part of the NCAA Semifinals. That game is set to start at 1 p.m.

 

Photo via UNC Athletics

Related Stories
‹
No. 1 UNC Field Hockey Defeats Boston College, Advances to NCAA Championship Game
In a rematch of the ACC Championship game on Friday as part of the NCAA Tournament Semifinals in Winston-Salem, the top-ranked UNC field hockey team defeated Boston College 6-3 to remain undefeated and advance to Sunday’s NCAA Championship Game. Sophomore Erin Matson–the nation’s leading scorer–had four goals for UNC (22-0), while Riley Fulmer and Marissa […]
No. 1 UNC Field Hockey Tops No. 6 Iowa to Remain Undefeated, Advance to 11th Consecutive NCAA Final Four
For the 11th consecutive season, the top-ranked UNC field hockey team will play in the Final Four. Head coach Karen Shelton’s squad defeated No. 6 Iowa 2-1 during Sunday’s NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals in Chapel Hill at the new on-campus stadium named after her, extending the program’s win streak to 44 games overall dating back to […]
No. 1 UNC Blanks Stanford in 1st Round of NCAA Field Hockey Tournament
A convincing 4-0 win over No. 15 Stanford on Friday in Chapel Hill in the first round of the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament has the top-ranked Tar Heels one step closer to repeating as undefeated national champions. Stanford goalie Kelsey Bing is considered one of the best in the entire country–even spending time with the […]
NCAA Field Hockey Tournament: No. 1 UNC Improves to 20-0 With First Round Victory Over William & Mary
The quest for an undefeated season remained alive for the top-ranked UNC field hockey team on Friday afternoon in Chapel Hill, as the Tar Heels cruised to a 4-0 victory over the William & Mary Tribe in the First Round of this year’s NCAA Tournament. Freshman Erin Matson scored the game’s first goal in the […]
Field Hockey: No. 2 UNC Opens Season, New Stadium With Commanding Win Over No. 5 Michigan
Fans in Chapel Hill on Saturday afternoon were treated to the first game ever played at the brand new Carolina Field Hockey Stadium, as the second-ranked Tar Heels put together a dominant performance in a 5-1 win over the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines. Although Michigan struck first blood with a goal by Halle O’Neill just […]
UNC Field Hockey Drops Princeton, Heading to Ninth Straight NCAA Final Four
One of the more impressive streaks in all of college sports continued on Sunday afternoon in Charlottesville, Virginia, as the sixth-ranked UNC field hockey team defeated No. 11 Princeton 3-2 to advance to its ninth consective NCAA Final Four–and 22nd in program history. It was a hard-fought back-and-forth affair that saw the teams alternate goals […]
UNC Dominates St. Joseph's to Advance to NCAA Field Hockey Quarterfinals
A pair of goals from Gab Major led the way for the sixth-ranked UNC field hockey team on Saturday, as the Tar Heels cruised to a spot in the NCAA Quarterfinals with a 4-0 victory over No. 15 St. Joseph’s–a program making its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Eva Van’t Hoog opened scoring for UNC […]
Top-Ranked UNC Field Hockey Knocks Off No. 17 Iowa Following Season-Opening Loss
Kicking off the season with a pair of top-25 matchups as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge this weekend, the top-ranked UNC field hockey team didn’t start its season quite the way it had hoped. Saturday saw the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines (2-0) upset the Tar Heels by a score of 3-2 in the first […]
Tar Heels Upset No. 2 Maryland, Advance to Eighth Straight Field Hockey Final Four
Head coach Karen Shelton said Saturday after the UNC field hockey team’s NCAA First Round victory that she considered her Tar Heels the underdogs heading into their matchup with No. 2 Maryland in the Quarterfinals. Based on the results, though, it’s tough to imagine this Tar Heel team being underdogs against anyone–as No. 4 UNC […]
UNC Shuts Out Stanford, Advances to NCAA Field Hockey Quarterfinals
Much like their women’s soccer counterparts, the UNC field hockey team began its NCAA Tournament with an emphatic shutout victory. The fourth-ranked Tar Heels knocked off the No. 12 Stanford Cardinal 3-0 on Saturday in their first round matchup at Maryland’s Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex. Just three and a half minutes into the game, […]
›