By R.L. Bynum
Two-time reigning national champion North Carolina is back to its familiar spot atop the national field hockey rankings.
Even though Northwestern still is undefeated at 8–0, the 6–0 Tar Heels supplanted the Wildcats for the No. 1 spot in the latest NFHCA Top 20 national coaches poll.
Northwestern should be used to such frustration since it lost to UNC in the last two national championship games.
However, there is clear disagreement among poll voters since Northwestern got more first-place votes than UNC 40–15. But Carolina got more poll points, 1,058–1,051.
While the Wildcats haven’t given up a goal in their last six games, they only beat unranked Indiana 1–0 on Sunday.
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Meanwhile, UNC had two dominating victories last week.
The Tar Heels beat No. 15 Syracuse (which held that ranking in the latest poll) 5–0 in their home opener Friday, outshooting the Orange 13–6. Then, on Sunday, a hat trick, along with two assists, from reigning national player of the year Ryleigh Heck propelled Carolina to a 7–0 win at No. 11 Liberty, outshooting the Flames 25–2. Liberty slipped three spots to No. 14.
Heck, who had four goals and five assists in the two games, is the ACC Offensive Player of the Week, and goaltender Abigail Taylor is the ACC Defensive Player of the Week. Taylor recorded two shutouts.
The Tar Heels are off this week before playing at Stanford at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 4, and at California at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 6.
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current ranking) | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Winston-Salem | |||
| 28 | Friday | L, 2–1, OT | No. 8 Michigan | 0–1 |
| 30 | Sunday | L, 3–2, OT | No. 2 Iowa | 0–2 |
| September | ||||
| 4 | Friday | W, 7–0 | Penn | 1–2 |
| 6 | Sunday | W, 1–0, OT (3–2 shootout) | No. 4 Princeton | 2–2 |
| 11 | Friday | L, 5–4, OT | No. 20 Old Dominion | 2–3 |
| 13 | Sunday | W, 2–1 | at Richmond | 3–3 |
| 20 | Sunday | Noon | vs. No. 11 Virginia | ACCN |
| 25 | Friday | 9 p.m. ET | at Stanford | |
| 27 | Sunday | 4 p.m. ET | at California | |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | 3 p.m. | at No. 14 Louisville | |
| 9 | Friday | 3 p.m. | at Saint Joseph’s | |
| 11 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 13 Liberty | |
| 16 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. Boston College | ACCNE |
| 18 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. No. 15 Syracuse | ACCN |
| 23 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 6 Wake Forest | ACCNE |
| 25 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at Appalachian State | |
| 30 | Friday | 6 p.m. | at No. 6 Duke | ACCN |
| November | ACC tournament | |||
| 3–6 | Tue.–Fri | At Karen Shelton Stadium | ACCN | |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 13 | Friday | TBA | First round Campus sites | |
| 15 | Sunday | TBA | Second round Campus sites | |
| 20 | Friday | TBA | National semifinals Louisville | |
| 23 | Sunday | TBA | Championship Louisville |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
