CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Three Atlantic Coast Conference field hockey teams advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2024 NCAA Field Hockey Championship following victories in Friday’s first round. The quarterfinals will be played on Sunday, November 17, at campus sites around the country.
Duke, North Carolina and Virginia each secured a victory in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. With Duke and North Carolina set for a meeting on Sunday, November 17, the ACC will once again be represented in the national semifinals.
The ACC has placed at least one team in the NCAA title game in 23 of the last 25 NCAA Championships – and 31 times in the last 34 years. In the ACC’s first 43 years as an NCAA Field Hockey conference, league teams have accounted for more than half of the total appearances in the national title game (44 of 86).
#1 North Carolina 4, Delaware 0
Just 6:15 into its title defense, North Carolina opened the scoring to take a 1-0 lead over Delaware. Katie Dixon beat the Blue Hens’ goalkeeper with an assist from Ryleigh Heck to put the Tar Heels in front early. By the end of the first quarter, North Carolina’s lead had grown to 3-0 after goals from Cianna Riccardo and Lisa Slinkert.
The score would remain 3-0 into the fourth quarter before Sietske Bruning pushed the lead to four. Bruning’s fifth goal of the season came off of an assist from Charly Bruder, the ACC Championship MVP.
North Carolina’s defense was outstanding on Friday afternoon, holding the Blue Hens without a shot. It marked the first time since the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament that the Tar Heels held an opponent without a shot attempt. North Carolina used 15 penalty corners to lead the charge towards 27 shots, including 23 of which landed on goal.
The top-ranked Tar Heels will meet Duke on Sunday at noon ET with the match streaming on ESPN+. In the final game of the regular season, North Carolina defeated Duke, 5-2, to earn the No. 1 seed in the 2024 ACC Field Hockey Championship.
Duke 1, Maryland 0
After more than 37 minutes of scoreless hockey, Duke’s Kira Curland broke the scoring drought and put the Blue Devils in front. After a deflected penalty corner, Curland batted a ball out of the air and into the back of the cage as the Duke took a 1-0 lead.
For two minutes late in the fourth quarter, Maryland held a two-player advantage after a penalty and the Terrapins pulling the goalkeeper. The Duke defense stood tall as it had all day, maintaining the NCAA Tournament shutout and advancing to Sunday’s quarterfinal round against the Tar Heels.
In net, Frederique Wollaert posted three saves on five shots by the Terrapins. The highly-disciplined Blue Devils allowed Maryland to draw just two penalty corners in the highly-competitive affair.
Virginia 2, Michigan 1
Suze Leemans put the Cavaliers in front of Michigan when she scored after a penalty corner in the second quarter, marking her sixth goal of the season. Jans Croon, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, was credited with the assist and the Cavaliers would never surrender the lead.
The score would remain 1-0 in favor of Virginia into the fourth quarter before Dani Mendez-Trendler buried the Cavaliers’ second goal of the day. Carolina Nemec redirected an entry pass to Mendez-Trendler who beat the Michigan goalkeeper and tacked on an insurance goal. The goal was the team-leading seventh of the season for Mendez-Trendler, who leads the Cavaliers with 18 points.
After pulling the goalkeeper with just under five minutes to play, the Wolverines continued to apply pressure to the Cavaliers’ defense. Michigan cracked into the scoring column with 93 seconds remaining in regulation to cut the Virginia lead to just one at 2-1. The Wolverines earned another penalty corner with 18 seconds to play but a Virginia defender deflected the shot attempt out of bounds, securing the victory for the Cavaliers.
Virginia will advance to the quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon where it will meet No. 2 seed Northwestern at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Princeton 1, Boston College 0
Boston College fell to Princeton 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Princeton took the lead with 41 seconds remaining in the first quarter and Boston College looked for an answer for the remainder of the contest. The Eagles pulled ACC Goalkeeper of the Year Charly Kramer with 3:35 remaining for a final push but the Boston College offense was unable to find an equalizer. The Eagles finished the season with a 14-7 record.
Harvard 1, Syracuse 0 (OT)
Syracuse and Harvard each put on a defensive masterclass throughout the first four quarters of action. Neither team allowed a goal despite combining for 10 shots in regulation. Syracuse’s Louise Pert led the goalkeepers in regulation, making three saves to keep the Crimson off the board. In the 67th minute, Harvard scored the sudden-death game-winning goal from the right side of the cage to advance to the quarterfinals. Syracuse ends the season with a 13-7 record.