June 19, 2009
2009 UNC Field Hockey Schedule
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina field hockey team will open its 2009 schedule on August 29 and will play seven games at Francis E. Henry Stadium over the course of the fall, coach Karen Shelton announced recently. The Tar Heels, five time NCAA champions, will play 17 regular-season contests, including home-and-home matchups with Wake Forest, Old Dominion and Duke.
"Our 2009 schedule will be as challenging as ever," said Shelton, who is heading into her 29th season at the program's helm. "I always think that in order to be the best we can be, we need to play the best competition we can. The Atlantic Coast Conference is - without question - the toughest in the country, so we'll be tested by all of those games. We'll also play some of the top teams from other conferences. I believe it's a schedule that will prepare us well for the postseason."
For the eighth season in a row, UNC will open against Michigan (Aug. 29) and Iowa (Aug. 30) in ACC-Big Ten Challenge play. The annual event, which also includes Wake Forest, will be hosted this fall by Iowa.
Carolina's first home game is on Sept. 4. The Friday evening matchup with Wake Forest will be a non-conference game between the two teams, which will meet in Winston-Salem on Oct. 3 for the season's ACC battle. Other home non-conference games are Radford (Sept. 16), Old Dominion (Sept. 18) and Longwood (Sept. 20). The Tar Heels will host Duke on Sept. 26 for an ACC battle, then travel to Durham to meet the Blue Devils again on Oct. 11. It's the first time that UNC and Duke have met twice in the regular season since 2003.
The Tar Heels also continue a long-time rivalry with ODU, traveling to Norfolk, Va., to face the Lady Monarchs on Oct. 31 after having played in Chapel Hill in September. Other non-conference road games, in addition to the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, are at Davidson on Sept. 8, games against Villanova and host West Chester at the Vonnie Gros Classic Sept. 11 and 12, and at James Madison on Oct. 18.
In addition to conference games against Duke at home on Sept. 26 and at Wake Forest on Oct. 3, the Tar Heels will take on Boston College Oct. 10 in Chapel Hill, travel to Virginia on Oct. 17 and host Maryland on Oct. 24.
