Field Hockey NCAA 2nd Round ACCtion: Three ACC Teams Remain Among Field Hockey's Final Four

Nov. 15, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Atlantic Coast Conference will occupy 75 percent of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship's final four teams, as Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia advanced to the semifinal round with wins today. Maryland defeated Drexel, North Carolina beat Wake Forest, and Virginia won in overtime against Michigan State in today's second-round action. Three ACC teams will be making an appearance in the national semifinals for the fifth time in the last seven seasons, and first since 2006.

The 2009 NCAA Field Hockey semifinals and championship game will be hosted by Wake Forest University at Kentner Field on Friday, November 20 and Sunday, November 22 in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Top-ranked Maryland (National Field Hockey Coaches Association) followed a 6-1 victory over American (Nov. 14) with a 5-0 shutout of 10th-ranked Drexel at the Maryland Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex in College Park, Md. Next Friday's first semifinal game will pit the Terrapins against Princeton--which is both ranked and seeded fourth--at 2 p.m. Maryland will be making its second consecutive appearance in the national semifinals and 13th overall, and carries an 8-4 semifinal-round record into next Friday's contest.

Earlier this season, Maryland beat the Tigers in overtime, 3-2, on October 7 in College Park. Trailing Princeton, 2-1, in the 42nd minute of play, Maryland junior three-time ACC Offensive Player of the Year Katie O'Donnell knotted the score at 2-2, then provided the go-ahead assist for senior All-ACC forward Nicole Muracco's game-winner in the 78th minute.

The third-ranked Tar Heels earned a 4-1 win against 15th-ranked Ohio State (Nov. 14) in the first round and defeated first and second-round host and sixth-ranked Wake Forest, 4-1, for their third victory over the Demon Deacons this season. North Carolina advances to its 13th national semifinal to play ACC-rival and second-ranked Virginia, which advanced to the semifinal round on the heels of a 3-2 overtime win against sixth-ranked Michigan State. Game time for the second semifinal round game is 4:30 p.m.

The Cavaliers shutout Richmond, 3-0, on November 14 to advance to the second round, where they defeated the Spartans for the second time this season.

The Tar Heels are 10-2 all time in national semifinal games, while Virginia is making its third all-time appearance in the semifinals, and first under fourth-year head coach Michele Madison. The Cavaliers lost to Old Dominion in its only two semifinal appearances: 3-2 in 1997 and 3-0 in 1998.

North Carolina and Virginia will be facing off for the third time in 2009, with each team winning once this season. North Carolina won the first meeting, a 2-1 overtime decision on October 17 at Turf Field in Charlottesville, Va., but Virginia took the rematch, 1-0, in the ACC Championship semifinals.

In the first game, North Carolina senior All-ACC forward Danielle Forword and junior midfielder/forward Elizabeth Drazdowski each scored a goal and recorded an assist, while Virginia sophomore All-ACC midfielder Paige Selenski tallied Virginia's lone goal. In the ACC Championship semifinal, Virginia freshman defender Charlotte van den Broek provided the game's only goal.

The NCAA semifinal round will bear at least two teams hailing from the ACC for the seventh consecutive season, and three teams for the fifth time since 2003. ACC teams have claimed 14 NCAA field hockey championships since 1983, including the last seven in a row, and have competed in every championship game since 1999. Wake Forest (2002-04), Maryland (2005-06, 08), and North Carolina (2007) have combined to win the last seven NCAA field hockey championships.