Chris Carter

Field Hockey

North Carolina to Meet Northwestern in 2025 NCAA Field Hockey Semifinals

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – For the 29th time in program history and 16th time in 17 seasons, North Carolina is preparing for an NCAA Field Hockey semifinal contest. This time, the top-ranked Tar Heels will meet No. 2 Northwestern in a rematch of the 2022 and 2023 national championship matches. The Tar Heels and Wildcats will square off on Friday, November 21, with the first push back coming at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
 
No. 3 Princeton and No. 4 Harvard, both out of the Ivy League, will meet in the first semifinal on Friday at noon ET. The semifinal winners will advance to the national championship game on Sunday, November 23, at 1:00 p.m. on ESPNU.
 
North Carolina and Northwestern have combined to win the last seven national championships, with North Carolina hoisting the trophy in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. The Tar Heels are the winningest program in field hockey history, winning 10 national championships.
 
Earlier this month, North Carolina won its ninth consecutive ACC Field Hockey Championship and 28th ACC title overall. Throughout the tournament in Louisville, Kentucky, the Tar Heels defeated Louisville, Duke and Virginia to claim the trophy.
 
The Tar Heels began their NCAA Tournament run with a 2-1 win over Saint Joseph’s, before knocking off Duke, 2-1, in overtime to advance to the national semifinals. The two wins in front of the Chapel Hill faithful propelled North Carolina back to the Final Four, which is being held on Duke’s Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium – just 14 miles from North Carolina’s Karen Shelton Stadium.
 
Noting ACC Field Hockey
  • For the first time in conference history, three teams split the ACC regular-season championship. North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest each finished with a 7-1 record throughout the regular season.
  • North Carolina won its ninth consecutive ACC Field Hockey Championship and 28th ACC title overall. Throughout the tournament in Louisville, Kentucky, the Tar Heels defeated Louisville, Duke and Virginia to claim the trophy.
  • North Carolina will be making its NCAA-record 29th trip to the Final Four. The Tar Heels have also reached the national semifinals in each of head coach Erin Matson's three seasons.
  • The Tar Heels are making their 16th trip in 17 seasons to the Final Four.
  • 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).
  • In the semifinals, #1 North Carolina will meet #2 Northwestern in a rematch of the 2022 and 2023 national championship matches. The two squads have combined to win the last seven field hockey national championships.
  • The ACC's five selections - Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia and Wake Forest - to the 2025 NCAA were the most of any conference. It marks the fourth straight year in which the ACC has earned five NCAA Tournament berths.
  • The ACC landed multiple teams in the NCAA field for the 31st consecutive year. This marks the 12th time in the last 13 seasons that at least four conference teams have earned NCAA bids.
  • North Carolina's Dani Mendez was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2025 ACC Field Hockey Championships. Mendez tallied 10 points with a pair of multi-goal games and two assists.