CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (theACC.com) – Top-seeded North Carolina, fourth-seeded Syracuse, sixth-seeded Boston College and seventh-seeded Virginia advanced to the semifinals Tuesday with quarterfinal victories in the 2026 ACC Field Hockey Championship in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
No. 1 North Carolina 6, No. 8 Stanford 0
North Carolina’s veterans set the tone in a 6-0 quarterfinal win over Stanford. Senior Charly Bruder opened the scoring 33 seconds into the match, and fifth-year Ryleigh Heck added two goals before halftime.
Bruder spun and fired from near the top of the circle, beating the Stanford goalkeeper to give the Tar Heels a lead they never relinquished.
In the second quarter, Hope Haynes sent a ball along the baseline and across the face of the goal, where Heck redirected it into the cage to double the lead. Heck struck again later in the period after Anya Jackson saved Haynes’ initial penalty-corner shot, putting away the rebound for her 13th goal of the season.
The Tar Heels added two third-quarter goals to take a 5-0 lead into the final period. ACC Freshman of the Year Sofia Ferri made it 4-0 before junior Coco Courtright extended the advantage with a backhand finish. Haynes converted a fourth-quarter penalty stroke for her third goal of the season to complete the scoring.
North Carolina will face fourth-seeded Syracuse in the first semifinal Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET.
No. 4 Syracuse 4, No. 5 Louisville 3
Fourth-seeded Syracuse outlasted fifth-seeded Louisville, 4-3, in a back-and-forth quarterfinal.
The teams traded first-quarter goals and were tied 1-1 after 15 minutes. In the sixth minute, Louisville’s Mary Wordelmann slipped a shot through the Syracuse goalkeeper’s legs on a one-on-one opportunity in transition. With nine seconds remaining in the quarter, Syracuse’s Jess Liddell converted a penalty corner with assists from Ava Brewer and Aubrey Turner.
A successful second-quarter video referral gave Louisville a penalty corner, and Chloe Plumb scored on the ensuing sequence from a pass by Gracie Potter to put the Cardinals ahead, 2-1. Syracuse answered on its own penalty corner when sophomore Aubrey Turner drove home a shot, assisted by Liddell, to tie the match.
The teams traded goals again in the third quarter. Liddell’s second goal put the Orange ahead, 3-2, before Wordelmann answered with her second of the day to even the score at 3-3.
Syracuse found the winner in the fourth quarter. On a breakaway, Turner lifted the ball over the Louisville goalkeeper, and Fieve Frenken redirected it into the cage for the decisive goal.
No. 7 Virginia 1, No. 2 Wake Forest 0 (OT)
Virginia and Wake Forest produced a tightly contested defensive quarterfinal, with the seventh-seeded Cavaliers earning a 1-0 overtime win over the second-seeded Demon Deacons.
With both teams contesting possession in the midfield, scoring opportunities were limited. Both goalkeepers made two saves, and each defense turned away four penalty corners.
Less than three minutes into overtime, senior forward Emma Watchilla scored her first goal of the season to send Virginia to the semifinals. The Kingston, Pennsylvania, native spun toward the center of the circle and fired into the lower-left corner of the cage.
Virginia will meet No. 6-seed Boston College in Wednesday’s semifinal round, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.
No. 6 Boston College 2, No. 3 Duke 1
In Tuesday’s nightcap, No. 6-seed Boston College stunned No. 3-seed Duke, 2-1, to advance to Wednesday’s semifinal round. The Eagles used a pair of goals from Maren Boyle to advance to the ACC semifinals for the second time in three years.
The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the first half with a pair of goals from the freshman Boyle. She buried a penalty corner to open the scoring before ripping a backhand finish from the left side of the cage, pushing the lead to two.
The Blue Devils looked to even the score in the second half, cutting the deficit to one in the third quarter. Shae Wozniak used a helper from Juliette Schulten to get Duke onto the scoreboard.
Boston College goalkeeper Charly Kramer made three second-half stops to push her team into the semifinals. Kramer continues to play her best down the stretch, posting her second shutout in three games.