UNC Field Hockey 2026-2027

BoomerHeel

Senior
Jul 31, 2025
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The loss hurts.
I am still not over the men's BB loss to WFU on Jan 21,1982 (for the sake of brevity, please fill in the blanks).
But, if you would allow me to take one second and congratulate our in state rival, Wake Forest Daemon Deacons.
They played together, smart, respectfully and well, and one goal better.
Chin up; we will return.
Go Heels.
I missed that game. I was in Cincinnati for a work trip. That was the only home game in the MJ years that I missed. I’m to blame for the loss.
 

3397char

All-American
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Jun 30, 2025
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UNCH posts enough (during games) that I know he/she watches or attends a ton of UNC sporting events. So I do not question their fandom at all.

Speaking generally, we can disagree without questioning people’s motives.
 
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pjb33

Redshirt
Sep 13, 2025
7
12
3
Just reading thru some of the comments after the close-loss to Wake. Shocked no one giving more credit to how good this Wake team is - Averill as coach, Schoenbeck a star on the senior USA team, a star calibre South African player, as well as a key freshman with league accolades. Wake began the season as a title contender and have proven that up to this point. You have to consider Duke as another favorite, along with the aforementioned NW and MD teams. Just saying - these are some of the best teams - doesn’t have to be a woe-is-me kind of loss. Schoenbeck’s two drag flicks were above the outstretched GK and perfectly executed. Chances of stopping those are slim. Enjoy the competition and yes, consider us the underdog against these teams.
 
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Deja_Blu

Junior
Jul 1, 2026
154
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Disparate observations ...
Dook may well win its 1st ACCT - unless ....
Ashley Sessa may become the 1st Div-1 FH player to win 4 Natty's in 4 academic years (with an Olympic waiver yr sandwiched in there and at 2 different schools) - unless ...
 
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Jriv23

All-Conference
Jul 31, 2025
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Great win and great bounce back. They will have to continue to take it one game at a time. Go Heels!
 
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Jriv23

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Disparate observations ...
Dook may well win its 1st ACCT - unless ....
Ashley Sessa may become the 1st Div-1 FH player to win 4 Natty's in 4 academic years (with an Olympic waiver yr sandwiched in there and at 2 different schools) - unless ...
I always like Ashley Sessa. I wish she would have stayed at UNC but I do understand. Yep, it does look like Duke may well win its 1st ACCT.
 
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Deja_Blu

Junior
Jul 1, 2026
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NCAA FH RPI 14th
NFHCA Week-9 10th

UNC vs Duke Fri
ACCT the following Tue

How many ACC schools typically are selected for the FH NCAAT?
 
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Deja_Blu

Junior
Jul 1, 2026
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I reviewed the NCAA 2025 Brackets.
Five ACC teams were selected.
I know that guarantees nothing for the 2026 FH NCAAT.
3397char I reviewed your last chart and analysis and concluded UNC needs to take home the ACCT Trophy to assure a spot in the quest for the Natty.
What a season of unexpected events in the conference it has been.
E.g., I did not foresee us losing to Liberty, or WFU to UVa, or Duke to Stanford, or UVa to BC.
But, we/they did and here we are.
I have watched NW play maybe half a dozen games this season.
Man they are good, fun to watch.
They play like we use to and not that long ago.
They are, I think, our new Maryland.
Until we can beat them, the Natty is out of reach for us.
We first, of course, have to be selected to the Tourny to even think about that.
Duke Friday.
Go Heels.
 
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3397char

All-American
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Jun 30, 2025
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I reviewed the NCAA 2025 Brackets.
Five ACC teams were selected.
I know that guarantees nothing for the 2026 FH NCAAT.
3397char I reviewed your last chart and analysis and concluded UNC needs to take home the ACCT Trophy to assure a spot in the quest for the Natty.
What a season of unexpected events in the conference it has been.
E.g., I did not foresee us losing to Liberty, or WFU to UVa, or Duke to Stanford, or UVa to BC.
But, we/they did and here we are.
I have watched NW play maybe half a dozen games this season.
Man they are good, fun to watch.
They play like we use to and not that long ago.
They are, I think, our new Maryland.
Until we can beat them, the Natty is out of reach for us.
We first, of course, have to be selected to the Tourny to even think about that.
Duke Friday.
Go Heels.
Assuming we beat dook Friday, beat a top 25 team in the ACC quarters, beat WF in the ACC semifinal, and then lose to dook in the ACCC, I think we get in. but there will be some sweating on selection day. We would be tied for the ACC regular season, split 4 games with other two top ACC teams, and likely still in the top 13 RPI.

Winning the ACCT is obviously a guarantee and a better seed.
 

Jriv23

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Assuming we beat dook Friday, beat a top 25 team in the ACC quarters, beat WF in the ACC semifinal, and then lose to dook in the ACCC, I think we get in. but there will be some sweating on selection day. We would be tied for the ACC regular season, split 4 games with other two top ACC teams, and likely still in the top 13 RPI.

Winning the ACCT is obviously a guarantee and a better seed.
This situation is unfamiliar to our coaching staff, players, fans, etc. It has been a long time since we find ourselves in this position. It did not help that it took so long for the court ruling in favor for our three players to be able to play again. It was during this time, our time had no experience, leadership, and direction on the playing field. It was a tough time for everyone, but our team survive. Either way this season is a great learning experience for us all whether good or bad. Our players and coaches will learn and grow from this. Go Heels!
 
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3397char

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This situation is unfamiliar to our coaching staff, players, fans, etc. It has been a long time since we find ourselves in this position. It did not help that it took so long for the court ruling in favor for our three players to be able to play again. It was during this time, our time had no experience, leadership, and direction on the playing field. It was a tough time for everyone, but our team survive. Either way this season is a great learning experience for us all whether good or bad. Our players and coaches will learn and grow from this. Go Heels!
Not too long ago. Exact same situation in 2021; Matson's 4th year.

We had to win the ACC to make the tourney, which we did, then went into the NCAA's with a low seed and lost to NW in the 1st round. That year was a head scratcher.

I agree that our three stars would have made a ton of difference in the early season losses this year. The Mich (OT), Iowa, (2-3, but we outplayed them), and JMU (OT) losses in particular come to mind.
 

BoomerHeel

Senior
Jul 31, 2025
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Not too long ago. Exact same situation in 2021; Matson's 4th year.

We had to win the ACC to make the tourney, which we did, then went into the NCAA's with a low seed and lost to NW in the 1st round. That year was a head scratcher.

I agree that our three stars would have made a ton of difference in the early season losses this year. The Mich (OT), Iowa, (2-3, but we outplayed them), and JMU (OT) losses in particular come to mind.
That was the season that Matson had the finger injury in the regular season Dook game, if I remember correctly. She missed several games afterwards.
 

Deja_Blu

Junior
Jul 1, 2026
154
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That was the season that Matson had the finger injury in the regular season Dook game, if I remember correctly. She missed several games afterwards.
You are correct BoomerHeel.
#9 UNC hosts #22 Duke at KSS on Oct 8th, 2021, Fri.

From GoHeels.com recap:

"Matson left the game in the closing minutes with an injury to her right pinky finger."

Me again: She took herself out. As I recall she ran to the right of the team bench and knelt down at the base of the stadium light pole, clutching her fingers. She is a warrior.

"After a quick postgame celebration with her teammates, she received medical treatment from the UNC Sports Medicine staff."

The celebration:
Eva presented Erin with a bouquet of flowers to celebrate her 100th UNC career goal.

(OK I, located the URL I referenced above.)
 
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3397char

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That was the season that Matson had the finger injury in the regular season Dook game, if I remember correctly. She missed several games afterwards.
Good memory!

But defending national champion UNC had already notched 4 of our 6 regular season losses prior to that injury. We did lose two of three when she was out, including Liberty blitzing us 0-4.

She returned for senior day then helped us sweep to the ACC title: either scoring (6) or assisting (2) on every single UNC goal in that tourney. Epic!

The NW NCAAT game was 0-0 until Q4, when NW scored on a rebound. NW logged an insurance goal with 3 min left after we pulled the goalie. They blocked our APC then got out on a counter attack.
 

3397char

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ACC regular season: all the chips are on the table.

BC @ Cuse at 4 PM
Louisville @ WF at 5 PM
UNC at dook at 6 PM

2026 Field Hockey Standings
SCHOOLACCPCTGF-GAHOMEAWAYOVERALLPCT.GF-GAHOMEAWAYNEUTRALSTREAK
Duke6-1.85713-73-03-112-3.80042-207-05-10-2W3
Wake Forest5-2.71418-111-24-012-5.70657-206-35-21-0W3
North Carolina5-2.71425-82-23-010-6.62556-214-36-10-2W1
Syracuse4-3.57115-133-01-39-5.64338-254-14-41-0W2
Louisville4-3.5718-102-22-110-7.58828-226-24-30-2L1
Virginia3-5.37510-141-32-28-6.57130-243-35-20-1L1
Boston College2-5.2869-112-20-37-9.43834-265-41-51-0W1
Stanford2-6.25011-272-20-410-7.58837-357-33-40-0W1
California2-6.25010-180-42-29-7.56237-283-46-20-1L2

  • We beat dook, ville beats WF, we clinch the regular season and top seed with tiebreak over dook in head-to-head.
  • We beat dook, WF beats ville, dook will clinch the regular season with tiebreak over both WF and UNC because their deciding loss (Stanford) will definitely be a lower seeded team than ours. Wake will then take second because they beat us; UNC will be 3rd.
  • We lose to dook: we will probably still be seeded 3rd: we lost to Wake, but have beaten Cuse and ville if we tie them.
In terms of NCAA tournament: beat dook today and we are still alive for an at-large berth. Lose to dook and we probably must win the ACCT. We currently sit at 14th in RPI, and 13th is the most likely cut-off for at-large. 8 losses would be a tough sell for additional consideration outside of RPI by the selection committee.
 

Deja_Blu

Junior
Jul 1, 2026
154
201
43
This is actually pretty bad for us. Penn State was #13 in RPI. We are 14th,
I will take it.
We need to accomplish the obvious.
Anyone have details on this game?
My hunch is that NW atypically relaxed as they had secured the Big 10 regular season and will return to form to win their Big10T.
 
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