North Carolina will make its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinals and its fifth overall when it plays five-time defending national champion Northwestern on Friday night in Towson, Md. The third-seeded Tar Heels and second-seeded Wildcats will take the draw at approximately 8 p.m. in a rematch of an 18-16 win by Carolina earlier this season in Evanston, Ill. UNC and Northwestern will be Friday's second semifinal game at Johnny Unitas Stadium, following the 5:30 p.m. game between top-seeded Maryland and Syracuse.
On April 18, UNC beat Northwestern 18-16 in Evanston, ending the Wildcats' 41-game winning streak and handing them their first home loss in 59 games.
The winner of Friday's game will advance to Sunday evening's final in Towson, Md., to play either Maryland or Syracuse.
The Tar Heels beat Navy 18-5 in the opening round on May 15 and sixth-seeded Virginia 17-7 in the quarterfinals on May 22. Both of those games were played in Chapel Hill.
Northwestern beat Notre Dame and Duke in a pair of home games to advance to Friday's semifinal.
Carolina is ranked No. 3 in the nation in both the IWLCA and Inside Lacrosse polls this week. Northwestern is ranked No. 2 in both polls.
UNC has won 11 of its last 12 games and is 17-2 this season. The Tar Heels' two losses in 2010 were a 13-12 overtime defeat at Virginia on March 13 and a 10-5 loss at Maryland in the ACC Tournament final on April 25.
Carolina handed both of the top seeds in this season's NCAA Tournament their only losses thus far in 2010, beating top-seeded Maryland 13-9 on April 10 in Chapel Hill and second-seeded Northwestern 18-16 on April 18 in Evanston, Ill. Maryland also defeated the Tar Heels in the 2010 ACC Tournament championship game in College Park, Md., 10-5.
This season marks the second consecutive year that Carolina, Maryland and Northwestern have been among the top three seeds in the NCAA field. Last season, the third-seeded Tar Heels beat No. 2 seed Maryland 8-7 in the national semifinals before losing to top-seeded Northwestern in the national title game.
CAROLINA'S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Carolina is 14-11 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the semifinals in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2009 and 2010 and the championship game in 2009.
The Tar Heels are 1-3 in the NCAA Tournament semifinals, losing in 1997 (10-8 to Loyola in Bethlehem, Pa.), 1998 (14-9 to Maryland in Baltimore) and 2002 (16-2 to Princeton in Baltimore) before beating Maryland in 2009 (8-7 in Towson, Md.).
Carolina is 0-1 in NCAA championship games (losing in 2009 to Northwestern).
UNC is 1-4 at neutral sites in NCAA Tournament competition, winning in the national semifinals in 2009 after losing in the same round in 1997, 1998 and 2002. UNC also lost in the 2009 NCAA title game.
Carolina is 10-1 at home in NCAA Tournament games, losing only in 2000 to Loyola. UNC has won its last nine home NCAA Tournament games.
The Tar Heels are 5-6 in NCAA quarterfinal games. Carolina has won back-to-back quarterfinal games after it had previously lost four consecutive quarterfinal contests.
UNC is 8-1 in the NCAA Tournament first round and has won its last eight first-round games. Carolina's only loss in the NCAA Tournament first round came in 1999 to Georgetown.
The 2010 team is the 12th squad head coach Jenny Levy has led to the NCAA Tournament, joining the 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 teams. UNC has made six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Tar Heels are 3-6 on the road in NCAA competition, winning in 1997 at Virginia in the quarterfinals, in 2005 at Penn State in the opening round and in 2008 in the first round at Virginia.
TAR HEELS TIE SCHOOL RECORD FOR WINS IN A SEASON
Carolina enters Friday's game against Northwestern with a record of 17-2 and needs one more victory to break the school record for wins in a season.
The school record is 17, first set by the 2002 team (17-3) and tied this spring.
The Tar Heels are 33-7 since the start of the 2009 season and are in the midst of the winningest two-year span in program history. UNC won 16 games in 2009, going 16-5.
UNC MAKING FIFTH NCAA SEMIFINAL APPEARANCE
The win against Virginia last Saturday sent North Carolina to its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinals and its second in a row.
The Tar Heels have reached the semifinals in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2009 and 2010, all under head coach Jenny Levy, who has guided the UNC program since its inception in 1996.
Carolina is 1-4 in its four previous Final Four appearances, reaching the NCAA championship game last year before losing to Northwestern. UNC lost in the semifinals in its first three appearances.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern leads the all-time series with North Carolina, 6-2, including a Tar Heel win earlier this season in Evanston, Ill., and two Northwestern wins last season (see more detailed summaries below).
On April 18, 2010, in Evanston, Carolina beat Northwestern 18-16. The Wildcats beat the Tar Heels 12-7 in the 2009 regular season in Chapel Hill and 21-7 in the 2009 NCAA Tournament championship game.
Northwestern is 2-0 against Carolina in the NCAA Tournament with a quarterfinal win in 2006 in Evanston and a win in the 2009 NCAA title game in Towson, Md.
The Wildcats are 3-1 against UNC in games played in Evanston, including regular season wins in 2006 and 2008 and an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal win in `06 and a UNC regular season win in 2010.
Carolina beat Northwestern, 9-8, in two overtimes, in the 2007 regular season in Chapel Hill for its first win over Northwestern.
