North Carolina being selected within the ACC as the top field hockey team should not come as a surprise. The Tar Heels have an auspicious record with the sport within the conference as well as across the NCAA. The latest NFHCA preseason rankings have been released and the ACC has, once again, loaded up the top 20 with 7 teams including the No. 1 slot.
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| NFHCA | TEAM |
| #1 | NORTH CAROLINA |
| #2 | NORTHWESTERN |
| #3 | MARYLAND |
| #4 | MICHIGAN |
| #5 | PENN STATE |
| #6 | VIRGINIA |
| #8 | SYRACUSE |
| #9 | LOUISVILLE |
| #12 | WAKE FOREST |
| #17 | BOSTON COLLEGE |
| #20 | DUKE |
Field Hockey
Last season was quite the run for a number of teams. Early on in the season two unbeaten and highly ranked teams, both from the conference, went head to head. North Carolina at No. 2 and Louisville at No. 4 were both at 6-0 coming into their match in mid-September. The Tar Heels came away with the win.
In the ACC tournament North Carolina and Virginia battled it out with the Tar Heels coming away with their 6th straight conference title.
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Overall, the conference was no slouch sending five teams to the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament. One of the highlights was a Quarterfinal game between North Carolina and Syracuse.
The Tar Heels wound up in the NCAA Championship game grinding it out against a tough Northwestern before netting the game winner in the waning minutes of the game to win 2-1 and bringing home the title.
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It was North Carolina’s 10th all-time field hockey championship, all under Head Coach Karen Shelton who a few weeks after the victory retired after 42 seasons. The Heels looked to a former star in Erin Matson to fill the vacancy.
The off-season saw more changes across the ACC as Syracuse named Lynn Farquhar, an assistant under Ange Bradley as their new head coach. Bradley departed ‘Cuse after 16 seasons at the helm.
