Quick Hits
• The final conference matches of the season are set for this weekend, with seedings and parings for next week's ACC Field Hockey Championship at Duke hanging in the balance.
• North Carolina remains the nation's only unbeaten NCAA Division I team and has clinched the top seed in the ACC Championship regardless of the outcome of Saturday's match at Duke, but two matches on Friday loom as crucial. Wake Forest plays host to Syracuse, with the winner claiming the No. 2 seed. Boston College travels to Louisville, with that outcome also playing a part in the final Championship seeding. The tournament bracket will be announced Saturday afternoon following the conclusion of the Duke-UNC match.
• This year's ACC Field Hockey Championship will follow the same format as years past but will begin earlier in the week on Tuesday, Nov. 1, with the semifinals set for Wednesday, Nov. 2, and the title game on Friday, Nov. 4. All games will be played at Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium.
• As has been the case throughout the 2022 season, all seven ACC teams remain ranked in the latest NFHCA Coaches Poll, which ties for the most of any conference. Four ACC teams are back among the top 10, with No. 1 North Carolina followed by No. 5 Virginia, No. 8 Louisville and No. 9 Syracuse. Wake Forest holds the No. 12 spot, followed by No. 22 Boston College and No. 25 Duke.
• North Carolina senior forward Erin Matson has been named the NFHCA National Offensive Player of the Week for a nation-leading third time this season and the 12th time in her career. Matson accounted for nine points in the Tar Heels’ wins over fellow-top 10 opponents Virginia and Saint Joseph’s last weekend. ACC student-athletes have earned seven national weekly awards from the NFHCA this season.
• As part of the ACC’s continued commitment to diversity, inclusion, social justice and racial equity, the league is conducting its third annual Fall Unity Week, Oct. 22-30. A moment of unity will occur before or during ACC competitions throughout the week.
As Postseason Approaches ...
• The ACC has landed multiple teams in the NCAA field each of the last 27 years. Last season marked the eighth time in the last nine seasons that at least four conference teams have earned NCAA bids.
• The ACC has placed at least one team in the NCAA semifinals 32 of the past 33 years. Forty-three of the last 76 teams to reach the national semifinals have come from the ACC.
• 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 33 years. ACC teams have won 21 NCAA Field Hockey Championships, including 14 of the last 21.
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Oct. 28
Boston College at Louisville, 1 pm
Syracuse at Wake Forest, 5 pm
Saturday, Oct. 29
North Carolina at Duke, Noon
Tuesday, Nov. 1
ACC Championship quarterfinals at Duke
Wednesday, Nov. 2
ACC Championship semifinals at Duke
Friday, Nov. 4
ACC Championship final at Duke
Wednesday, Nov. 9
NCAA Opening Round Games
Friday, Nov. 11
NCAA First-round games
Sunday, Nov. 13
NCAA Quarterfinals
Friday, Nov. 18
NCAA Semifinals (Storrs, CT)
Sunday, Nov. 20
NCAA Finals (Storrs, CT)