UNC Field Hockey: Preseason Rankings Announced
The UNC Field Hockey team has been tabbed as preseason favorites as both ACC rankings and the NFHCA Coaches Poll have been released.
The UNC women’s field hockey team has been selected as the No. 1 team in the Division I National Coaches Poll for the upcoming season. North Carolina has also been selected as the 2023 ACC Field Hockey favorite.
The Tar Heels received over half of the first-place votes with 29 votes to make them the undisputed preseason favorite in the Division I National Coaches Poll that was released on August 22nd. The Tar Heels also received 955 votes from the NFHCA committee, which is composed of member coaches from across all NCAA divisions for field hockey.
Along with being ranked number one nationally, the UNC women’s field hockey team is also noted as the preseason favorite in the ACC Coaches poll. Receiving 45 total votes and four first-place votes, North Carolina narrowly beat out Virginia who held 42 total votes and three first-place votes.
Individually, the Tar Heels also had two players named to the 2023 Preseason All-ACC team: sophomores Ryleigh Heck and Sietske Brüning.
North Carolina enters the 2023 season under the reigns of first-year head coach Erin Matson, arguably one of the best athletes to ever put on a North Carolina jersey. She was a part of four NCAA Championship teams and five ACC Championship teams and was also a three-time Honda Sport Award winner. She also holds the NCAA Tournament and ACC records for as the all-time scoring leader.
Matson enters as the head coach after Karen Shelton announced retirement after 42 seasons as the UNC Field Hockey coach. Shelton had one of the most dominant coaching careers ever as she finished with 10 NCAA Championships, 25 ACC Championships, and 21 ACC Regular-Season Championships. She finished with a 745-172-9 record during her time at the helm of the Tar Heels.
The UNC field hockey program will begin its season on August 25th at 8:30 PM EST in Chapel Hill when they face off against No. 4-ranked Michigan in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on ACC Network.
Next. Wrestling Head Coach Coleman Scott Steps Down. dark
Follow us @KeepingItHeel on X (formerly Twitter) and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels athletics news, updates, and recruiting.