April 30, 2003

2003 Carolina Field Hockey Schedule

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina field hockey team team will face a challenging 2003 schedule that includes 12 games against teams that played in last year's NCAA Tournament and matchups with every squad ranked in the top six spots of the final 2002 national poll.

"It's probably the toughest schedule in the country, and we're excited about the challenge," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "I like to use the regular season to prepare for the postseason. That's always been my philosophy - we get better by playing good teams."

The Tar Heels open the season on Aug. 31 in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge, hosted this year by Michigan. In Ann Arbor, Mich., Carolina will face the host Wolverines, ranked No. 4 in last season's final poll. In the second game of the weekend event, UNC will play Iowa on Sept. 1.

UNC will play five road games to open the season. The Tar Heels' first home game is Sept. 14 against James Madison. The following weekend, Carolina will host Old Dominion on Sept. 20 and Virginia on Sept. 21.

The Tar Heels also will face ODU, the top team in last year's final poll, on Nov. 1 in Norfolk, Va. Carolina will play defending NCAA Champion Wake Forest on Sept. 26 in Winston-Salem, N.C., and on Oct. 19 at home.

The 2003 ACC Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 6, 7 and 9 in Charlottesville, Va. NCAA Tournament play begins the following weekend at campus sites and the NCAA Championship is scheduled for Nov. 21 and 23 at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass.

The Tar Heels return 10 letterwinners from last year's squad, which finished 9-11 with a No. 13 nationally ranking. Three of the top five scorers from 2002 are back, led by junior Kerry Falgowski, who scored a team-high 11 goals last season. Laura Douglas, also a junior, was second with seven goals and seven assists, tied for the team lead. Another junior, Kelsey Keeran, ranked fifth on last year's team in goals with four and in scoring with 11 points. Defender Alison Stewart is the team's only senior.

Carolina will be without three senior starters from the 2002 squad: Stephanie Fuller, Meredith Keller and Amy Tran.