Unbeaten UNC atop field hockey poll for second week in row

By R.L. Bynum

North Carolina is the only undefeated Division I field hockey team in the country and is still No. 1, but it still isn’t a unanimous pick in the latest NFHCA national coaches poll.

The Tar Heels (9–0, 2–0 ACC) are top-ranked for the second consecutive week with 37 of the 40 first-place votes after getting 35 the week before. Maryland (11–1) moved up two spots to No. 2 but has no first-place votes, with No. 3 Northwestern (10–2) getting two and No. 4 Iowa (9–2) getting one.

In Carolina’s only game last week, it rolled to a 6–3 road victory over Liberty, which fell two spots to No. 16. Fifth-year forward Erin Matson notched her fourth career four-goal game in the match to push her career points total to 300, six shy of the ACC record.

Matson is the ACC’s co-offensive player of the week with Virginia’s Daniela Mendez-Trendler.

Carolina plays two ranked teams on the road this weekend, visiting No. 19 Boston College (5–6, 1–1) on Friday and No. 12 Connecticut (7–3) on Sunday.

UNC also is the only ACC team unbeaten in league play, with a half-game lead over No. 11 Syracuse (10–2, 2–1) and No. 6 Virginia (7–3, 2–1).

Other ACC teams in the poll are No. 14 Wake Forest (8–3, 1–1) and No. 25 Duke (4–7, 0–2).

Top 25

RankSchoolRecordPoints
(1st-place votes)
Previous rankChange
1 North Carolina9-0997 (37)1
2Maryland11-19344▲ 2
3Northwestern 10-2906 (2)2▼ 1
4University of Iowa9-2849 (1)3▼ 1
5Penn State9-28296▲ 1
6Virginia7-27697▲ 1
7Louisville9-27195▼ 2
8Princeton 7-46669▲ 1
9Saint Joseph’s 8-364710▲ 1
10Michigan6-46248▼ 2
11Syracuse 10-254013▲ 2
12Connecticut7-353311▼ 1
13Old Dominion 7-252512▼ 1
14Wake Forest 8-348917▲ 3
15Harvard 7-340915
16Liberty 7-439214▼ 2
17James Madison 7-438218▲ 1
18Massachusetts, Amherst9-235320▲ 2
19Boston College5-626916▼ 3
20William and Mary7-424719▼ 1
21Albany8-3193Unranked
22Maine8-313523▲ 1
23Rutgers 6-613121▼ 2
24Ohio State 5-512624
25Duke 4-78322▼ 3
DateMonth/dayTime/
score
Opponent/event
(current ranking)
LocationRecord/
TV
AugustACC/Big Ten Challenge
25FridayW, 3–2No. 16 MichiganHome1–0
27SundayL, 3–2 (OT)No. 8 IowaHome1–1
SeptemberACC/Ivy Challenge
1FridayW, 4–0PennPhiladelphia2–1
3SundayW, 2–1 (OT)PrincetonPhiladelphia3–1
——————————
10SundayW, 2–1No. 17 Old DominionNorfolk, Va.4–1
15FridayW, 2–0No. 10 LouisvilleHome5–1,
1–0 ACC
22FridayW, 3–0Wake ForestWinston-Salem6–1,
2–0 ACC
24SundayW, 6–1Appalachian StateHome7–1
October
1SundayW, 4–1No. 13 Saint Joseph’sPhiladelphia8–1
6FridayW, 3–1No. 14 Boston CollegeHome9–1,
3–0 ACC
8SundayL, 2–1 (OT)No. 7 LibertyHome9–2
13FridayW, 4–1No. 11 SyracuseSyracuse10–2,
4–1 ACC
15SundayW, 4–3No. 18 AlbanyAlbany, N.Y.11–2
20FridayL, 3–2No. 5 VirginiaCharlottesville11–3,
4–1 ACC
27FridayW, 2–1No. 3 DukeHome12–3,
5–1 ACC
NovemberACC tournament
1WednesdayW, 3–2Semifinals:
No. 4 Virginia
Charlottesville13–3
4FridayW, 2–0Final:
No. 3 Duke
Charlottesville14–3
NCAA tournament
Link to bracket
10FridayW, 6–1First round:
William & Mary
Chapel Hill 15–3
12SundayW, 4–2Second round:
No. 9 Harvard
Chapel Hill 16–3
17FridayW, 2–0National semifinal:
No. 5 Virginia
Chapel Hill17–3
19SundayW, 2–1, 2 OTs
(UNC wins
shootout 3–2)
Championship:
No. 2 Northwestern
Chapel Hill18–3

Photo of Erin Matson courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications

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