ACC Field Hockey Release
https://theacc.co/ACCfhRelease
NFHCA Preseason Poll
https://nfhca.org/polls/division-i/
Quick Hits
• ACC teams open regular-season play this weekend with a packed non-conference slate that includes No. 1 North Carolina’s neutral-site game versus No. 2 Michigan on Friday (2 p.m. in Iowa City), which will be a rematch of last season’s national championship game. No. 11 Wake Forest will face host team and No. 3-ranked Iowa – which joined UNC, Louisville and Michigan in last season’s NCAA final four – in the second game of Friday’s twin bill.
• Other action on Friday includes No. 8 Virginia playing host to No. 16 Penn State, while No. 12 Duke welcomes No. 15 Rutgers. No. 7 Boston College, No. 5 Louisville and 14 Syracuse are also set to open at home. Each of the ACC’s seven teams have additional games slated Saturday or Sunday.
• The first conference games are set for Friday, Sept. 17. Syracuse is slated to host this year’s ACC Championship on Nov. 4-5 and 7 at J.S. Coyne Stadium.
• In the ACC’s 39 years as an NCAA Division I Field Hockey conference, league teams have accounted for more than half the total appearances in the national title game (42 of 78). At least one ACC team has reached the NCAA tournament final in 29 of the last 32 years.
• ACC teams have won 21 NCAA Field Hockey Championships, including 14 of the last 20.
• After posting 19 victories last season, North Carolina's Karen Shelton is the all-time leader in coaching wins with 711. Shelton surpassed former UConn head coach Nancy Stevens, who retired last year with an even 700 wins. All of Shelton’s wins have come during her 40-year tenure at UNC.
• The ACC boasts two additional coaches who have surpassed the 400-career win mark in Virginia’s Michele Madison (419) and Wake Forest’s Jennifer Averill (409). Syracuse’s Ange Bradley (351) and Duke’s Pam Bustin (293) also among the leaders among active coaches in total career wins. Louisville’s Justine Sowry needs five wins to reach 200 for her career.
Poll Numbers
• Three-time defending national champion North Carolina was favored to claim its fifth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference field hockey title in a vote of the league’s seven head coaches • UNC received six first-place votes and placed atop this year’s ACC preseason poll with 48 total points • Boston College (30 points) was picked for a second-place finish, while Virginia picked up the remaining first-place vote to hold the No. 3 spot with 25 points • Wake Forest (24 points) finished fourth in the voting, while Duke, Louisville and Syracuse tied for fifth place with 23 total points each.
• The ACC leads all conferences with each of its seven teams ranked among the top 15 of the NFHCA preseason poll. Three-time defending NCAA champion North Carolina leads the way at No. 1, followed by No. 5 Louisville, No. 7 Boston College and No. 8 Virginia. Wake Forest checks in at No. 11, followed by No. 12 Duke and No. 14 Syracuse. Led by two-time National Player of the Year Erin Matson, the Tar Heels are seeking to become the first field hockey team in NCAA Division I history to capture four straight national titles
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Aug. 27
Quinnipiac at Boston College, 1 p.m.
Sacred Heart at Syracuse, 1 p.m.
North Carolina vs. Michigan (at Iowa City), 2 p.m.
Ohio at Louisville, 3 p.m.
Wake Forest at Iowa, 4:30 pm.
Penn State at Virginia, 5 p.m.
Rutgers at Duke, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 28
Maine at Boston College, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 29
North Carolina at Iowa, Noon
Richmond at Duke, 1 p.m.
Delaware at Virginia, 1 p.m.
New Hampshire at Louisville, 2 p.m.
Vermont at Syracuse, 2 p.m.
Wake Forest vs. Michigan (at Iowa City), 2 p.m.
Friday, Sept 3
Louisville vs. Penn (at Princeton, N.J.), Noon
North Carolina at Princeton, 2:30 p.m.
Boston College vs. Maryland (at Durham, N.C.), 3 p.m.
Virginia at William & Mary, 5 p.m.
Northwestern at Duke, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 4
Kent State at Syracuse, 1 p.m.
Appalachian State at Wake Forest, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 5
Boston College vs. Northwestern (at Durham, N.C.), 11 a.m.
North Carolina vs. Penn (at Princeton, N.J.), 11 a.m.
Towson at Virginia, Noon (ACCN)
Louisville at Princeton, 1:30 p.m.
Maryland at Duke, 2 p.m. (ACCN)