'Still business to take care of.' No. 1 UNC advances to NCAA field hockey title game

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Chapel Hill, N.C. — North Carolina is back in the NCAA field hockey championship game.

But the top-ranked Tar Heels and first-year coach Erin Matson are hardly satisfied.

"We're not done yet," defender Romea Riccardo said after UNC's 2-0 victory against ACC rival Virginia on Friday afternoon. "We celebrated for five minutes and then we go back to seeing who we play and we look for the next one."

The Tar Heels are seeking their second consecutive title, fifth in the last six seasons and 11th overall. They will meet No. 2 Northwestern, which defeated No. 3 Duke 2-1 in Friday's second semifinal, in Sunday's championship game. The title game starts at 1:30 p.m.

UNC beat Northwestern in the final last season. Northwestern won the 2021 title, the only one Matson didn't capture during her remarkable five-year playing career.

The 23-year-old Matson, a three-time national player of the year, moved from the field to the bench after the retirement of Shelton, the program's legendary coach. In her first season, the youngest coach in the NCAA guided the Tar Heels to a seventh consecutive ACC title and, now, a 22nd NCAA title game appearance since 1987.

"There's still business to take care of," Matson said. "You guys know our standards.. Everybody in America knows our standards based on what we've done so we won't be happy with anything short of that."

On Friday, the Tar Heels shut down Virginia's offense throughout, limiting the Cavaliers to five penalty corners and six shots.

UNC's Ryleigh Heck opened the scoring Friday in the first quarter with a goal in transition down the left side. it was Heck's 13th goal of the season.

"The goal started from defense to attack," said Heck, a sophomore from New Jersey and the team's second-leading scorer. "It was a team goal and I just happened to be able to finish it."

Seitske Bruning put the Tar Heels up 2-0 in the second period when she deflected a shot into the cage off a direct shot on a penalty corner.

Now the Tar Heels are in position to add to their impressive run of recent success. North Carolina won the national title in 2022, 2020, 20219 and 2018 — with Matson as the team's top player. Matson scored the game-winning goal in last year's championship game.

The program also captured four national titles between 1989 and 2009, giving it an NCAA-record 10. The Tar Heels have finished second 11 times, most recently in 2016.

"It's phenomenal to have been part of such a special group that wants it so badly, but just wants to get better," Matson said. "I'm excited about how they played (Friday), and I know we'll carry that into Sunday."

Duke vs. Northwestern

Duke was seeking its first national title in field hockey. The Blue Devils finished as runners-up in 2013, 2005, 2004 and 2003. Duke finished the season 18-5 and made their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2019.

Northwestern scored first, but Duke knotted the game in the third period on a terrific redirect from Hannah Miller.

"Hannah Miller's goal was world class and that was such a beautiful tip," Northwestern coach Tracey Fuchs said. "Nothing we could do about it. She's such a great player."

But the Wildcats' unrelenting offensive attack produced several more opportunities for Northwestern, which had 20 shots, including nine on goal. The Wildcats drew 10 penalty corners. Duke had four shots, two on goal, and drew one corner.

But it was a transition goal that gave Northwestern the lead. Olivia Bent-Cole eluded several defenders in the midfield and found Regan Cornelius, who scored.

"She gave me a great pass," Cornelius said. "I knew all I really had to do was simple stop push. We practice it all the time."

The Wildcats (21-1) have won 21 consecutive games and lead the nation in scoring margin and save percentage. Now they face the team that denied them back-to-back titles. UNC won 2-1 in last year's final.

"It's going to be a difference in style," said Duke coach Pam Bustin, whose team lost to each of the finalists twice this season. "They're both very good at counterattack. So whoever can possess the ball more and probably capitalize on counterattack, it's going to be a big deal.

"I do think set pieces are a big deal. If Northwestern can draw as many corners as they did (Friday), I think they'll be in good shape."

It is the third consecutive NCAA title game for Northwestern, following the 2021 win and the 2022 loss to UNC in the final.

"I'm definitely not dwelling on what happened last year," Northwestern's Alia Marshall said, "but it's definitely been a motivator to get back here. There's no doubt about it."