Heels Host NCAA First & Second Rounds Once Again

Friday, November 14

Chapel Hill

12 PM

North Carolina

Saint Joseph's

Tickets

Huddle
University of North Carolina Field Hockey v Duke
Karen Shelton Stadium
Chapel Hill, NC
Friday, October 31, 2025

Photo by: NATE SKVORETZ

November 13, 2025 | Field Hockey

Bracket Game Notes

By: William Soulé

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Carolina field hockey returns to the NCAA tournament with one goal in mind, to once again reach the pinnacle of the sport.

That journey starts against a familiar opponent in Saint Joseph's, who knocked the Heels out in last season's final four. This time around the game is in the friendly confines of Karen Shelton Stadium, which has played host to at least one NCAA tournament game every year since it opened in 2018 except for one.

SCHEDULE
First Round - Friday, Nov. 14
Chapel Hill | Karen Shelton Stadium
Watch: ESPN+ | Tickets

GM1: Saint Jospeh's at UNC | 12 PM ET
GM 2: Iowa vs. Duke | 2:30 PM ET

Second Round - Sunday, Nov. 16
Watch: ESPN+ | Tickets
GM 1 Winner vs. GM2 Winner | 1 PM ET

NUMBERS TO KNOW
.950 - Matson's crew now hold a 19-1 record, good for the nation's best winning percentage on the season at .950.
1 - UNC was named the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the fourth year in a row and seventh time in the last eight years.
9 - The Heels have 9 wins over top-15 opponents this year, the most in the country.
28 - Carolina has now conquered the ACC 28 times in its history, more than all of the other programs combined (15).
42 - 2025 represents The Heel's 42nd trip to the NCAA tournament.

SCOUTING REPORT
➤ Friday's game will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two programs.
➤ In postseason matchups, Carolina holds a 2-1 edge over St. Joe's with one of the wins coming at KSS.
➤ Last time they met: An upset victory for the Hawks derailed an undefeated season for the No. 1 seeded Tar Heels in 2024. A cold day in Ann Arbor saw SJU score the first two (Carolina's first time trailing all year) and UNC couldn't recover. Charly Bruder smashed home a third quarter goal that gave the Heels life, but they couldn't ever quite come up with the equalizer despite out shooting their opposition 16-9 with four more penalty corners.
➤ UNC gave up the first goal in the team's 2023 meeting as well, but stormed back to win 4-1 thanks to goals from Bruder, Sietske Brüning, and Ryleigh Heck.
➤ The most recent game in KSS was a 5-2 win in the second round of the 2022 NCAA tournament. The 2017 matchup was a first round game.

AUGUST. SEPTEMBER. OCTOBER. CAROLINA.
➤ We have officially entered the field hockey postseason. The whole of November has historically been dominated by the North Carolina Tar Heels.
➤ The stretch run annually kicks off with their complete control of the ACC. The Tar Heels have now won 28 ACC Championships, more than all of the other programs combined.
➤ No current member has more than four titles (Wake Forest). Former ACC constituent Maryland won 10.
➤ The next step along the journey is the NCAA tournament, a place the Heels have long known success. Carolina has won 11 national championships, more than any other program in the sport's history.
➤ Recent history has been almost all Carolina. The team has claimed five of the last seven titles.
➤ UNC holds an 83-30 all-time record in the tourney.
➤ Carolina has earned the No. 1 seed for the 13th time since seeding began in 1997. In the 12 previous tournaments as top seed, they have won eight of their national championships and own a 39-5 record.
➤ The Heels' coach Erin Matson is obviously no stranger to this tournament, winning four times as a player before claiming another in her first year coaching.

THE REIGN OF TERROR CONTINUES
➤ The Tar Heels traveled to Louisville and took home yet another ACC Championship for the conference's most dominant program. It was the 28th overall and ninth in a row for Carolina.
➤ Opening game of the tournament, they faced the hosts Louisville and came away with a 2-1 win. Isabel Boere scored the game winner in a tight contest with the game still tied in the fourth quarter.
➤ Game two saw them face rivals Duke, rolling to a 5-2 victory. A pair of goals from Dani Mendez powered the Heels to one of their most impressive victories of the season. It was the 100th all-time meeting against the Blue Devils, a series that Carolina leads 88-12.
➤ The finale saw the ACC's best square off with UNC overcoming UVA 4-1. Mendez was the engine again, scoring the first two goals of the game against her former team that helped earn her MVP honors.