University of North Carolina Athletics

The match starts at 11am ET and tickets are available here or at the gate. UNC students who show their OneCard have free admission, while supplies last.

Maryland and Duke will meet later that day at 1:30 PM ET in KSS, with the winners of the two games facing off Sunday at noon for a spot in the NCAA semifinals. Delaware (12-9) advanced to the Tar Heels after coming from behind in dramatic fashion to beat Fairfield 2-1 in 2OT on Wednesday.

Note the tar heels

The Tar Heels claimed their 27th ACC title last Friday with a 4-1 victory over Boston College.
It was UNC's eighth straight conference championship. Goals from Charly Bruder, Ciana Riccardo, Sanne HakAnd Ryleigh Heck helped Carolina dominate the game. Starting goalkeeper Abigail Taylor did not concede a goal in her 56 minutes of action.
Taylor's 0.49 goals against average is the best in the country.
En route to the title, Carolina set a new ACC record for assists in a single tournament with 12, breaking the 28-year record set by the 1996 Tar Heel team.
UNC set a new season high with 16 corners against BC, good for a total of xx in three games.
Bruder's five goals on the week helped her earn tournament MVP honors before she was also named NFHCA Offensive Player of the Week, giving her four weekly awards this year.
She is now tied for eighth with the eighth most goals in a year in program history and needs just one more score to match her head coach's tally from her last two campaigns at 27, which puts her in a five-point tie would take fourth place. most of all time.
UNC has outscored its opponents in every game this season, by a margin of +264.
Brother and Ryleigh Heck remain the class of the ACC. Bruder leads the conference in goals (26, also the best in the nation), shots (118) and points (54). Heck leads in assists (15) while ranking second in shots on goal (50) and points (41).
The Heels lead the nation in goals per game (4.06), assists per game (3.72), points per game (11.83), scoring average (4.29), scoring margin (3.76) and goals against average (0.53). They rank second in penalty corners per game (9.28) and third in shutouts (10).

UNC in the NCAA tournament

The Tar Heels enter this postseason chasing their third consecutive and twelfth overall national championship, the most by any program in the history of the sport.
Especially recent history was all Carolina. The team has claimed five of the last six titles, overtaking Old Dominion for the most ever.
Much of that recent success can be attributed to the arrival of ErinMatson in Chapel Hill. The “goat of hockey” won four titles in five years as a player before winning again last season in her first as head coach.
Matson also holds the NCAA tournament career records for most points scored with 54 and most goals scored with 23.
She took over from the legendary Karen Shelton, who won ten times in her 42 years in charge. She holds the records for most NCAA titles won by one coach, most tournament appearances (39), games coached (106) and games won (77).
The Heels are making a record 41st appearance in the NCAA tournament field. Friday's game will be UNC's 111th in tournament play, also a record.
Carolina has won 81 games in the NCAA tournament, more than any school. Maryland is second with 69 and Old Dominion is second with 50. UCONN at 47 rounds out the only four teams with more than 40 wins.
North Carolina is 81-29 all-time in the tournament and holds the record for the best winning percentage (.736).
UNC has the most championship round appearances with 27.
UNC is 8-9 in games that reach overtime.
UNC enters the tournament as the top seed for the third year in a row and for the sixth time in the past seven years.
The program has been the No. 1 seeded team 12 times since seeding began in 1997, six more times than the next closest team (Maryland).
In those 12 tournaments, top seed Carolina has won eight national championships and has a 37-4 record.

Heels against Hens

Friday's game marks the 10th all-time meeting between UNC and Delaware. Carolina leads this series 7-2.
The past three meetings between the two programs have involved NCAA tournament play.
Last time they met: November 11, 2022. In a of Erin MatsonIn his final game as a player, the Heel came from behind to defeat the Blue Hens 5-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The match, played at Karen Shelton Stadium, saw scores from some familiar faces. Kennedy Cliggettscored twice to give Carolina the lead again Ryleigh Heck And Lisa Slinkert also got their names on the score sheet.
In 2016, Delaware earned their program's highlight reel at the expense of the Heels, winning the national championship 3-2.
The other postseason loss between the two came in 2013. Carolina won 6-2 to advance to the second round.