CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Three Atlantic Coast Conference field hockey teams advanced to the Second Round of the 2025 NCAA Field Hockey Championship following victories in Friday’s first round. The quarterfinals will be played on Sunday, November 16, at campus sites around the country.
Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse 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, 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 26 NCAA Championships – and 31 times in the last 35 years. In the ACC’s first 44 years as an NCAA Field Hockey conference, league teams have accounted for half of the total appearances in the national title game (44 of 88).
#1 North Carolina 2, Saint Joseph’s 1
North Carolina avenged its loss to Saint Joseph’s in the 2024 national semifinals afternoon with a 2-1 victory in the First Round of the 2025 NCAA Field Hockey Championship.
The Tar Heels took a 1-0 advantage into the halftime break after Ryleigh Heck found the back of the cage in the second quarter. The Hawks evened the game at 1-1 in the third quarter.
In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Charly Bruder scored the eventual game-winner off a penalty corner. With assists from Dani Mendez and Sanne Hak, Bruder unleashed a strong shot into the left side of the cage to give the Tar Heels a 2-1 advantage that they would not surrender.
Duke 2, Iowa 1
After trailing 1-0 at halftime, Duke managed to log a come-from-behind effort to move on to the second round. The Blue Devils got on the scoreboard in the 41st minute when Juliette Schulten used her own rebound to create a scoring opportunity. Schulten ripped a shot on a penalty corner attempt, but the shot was blocked by an Iowa defender. The shot landed on Schulten’s stick and she converted on the second-chance attempt, beating the goalkeeper over her left shoulder.
Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Alaina McVeigh ripped a backhanded shot towards the right side of the cage and used the post to her advantage. The All-ACC standout beat the keeper before her shot ricocheted off the right post and into the back of the cage for the eventual game-winning goal.
Duke goalkeeper Kaiya Chepow made three of her four saves in the fourth quarter to secure the first-round victory for the Blue Devils. Duke will meet North Carolina in the NCAA Second Round on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Syracuse 3, Liberty 2 (Syracuse advances 4-2 in penalty strokes)
Syracuse and Liberty traded goals in the second quarter to head to halftime tied at 1-1. Syracuse’s goal came off a penalty corner from Bo van Kempen with assists from Pati Strunk and Lana Hamilton. Liberty would tie the game in the 28th minute.
After an assist from Aubrey Turner, Hattie Madden would give the Orange a 2-1 advantage as the two teams headed to the fourth quarter. In the final minute of regulation, however, Liberty would score off a scoring opportunity created by penalty corner, tying the game at 2-2.
The Orange needed to fight off penalty corners in the closing seconds of both overtime periods. At the end of the second overtime, Jessie Eiselin made a huge save as time expired to send the game to penalty strokes. The Flames controlled possession throughout the second half and overtimes, forcing the Syracuse defense to fight off 10 penalty corners throughout the 50 minutes after halftime.
Turner, a true freshman, played the hero for the Orange on Friday evening. With the Orange leading the shootout 3-2 heading into the fifth round, a goal from Turner would push Syracuse into Sunday’s second round. The Downingtown, Pennsylvania, native spun to her left before beating the goalkeeper to the right and sending Syracuse to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
The Orange will meet the No. 2 national seed Princeton in Princeton, New Jersey, on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Syracuse looks to make its first trip to the national semifinals since 2015.
Miami (Ohio) 2, #4 Virginia 1
Virginia’s Mia Abello opened the scoring less than three minutes into the first-round contest, but that was the last offensive success for the Cavaliers on Friday afternoon. Miami scored an equalizer before the end of the first quarter, before taking a 2-1 lead in the third quarter. Virginia landed just one shot on goal in the second half as the RedHawks held on to upset the No. 4 national seed.
UConn 2, Wake Forest 0
UConn took a 1-0 lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter and would never surrender the advantage. In the fourth quarter, the Huskies pushed the lead to 2-0 on a penalty stroke. Throughout the game, the UConn back line was dominant, allowing Wake Forest to land just two shots on goal.