No. 14 Virginia Hosts No. 10 North Carolina on Senior Day

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 14 Virginia field hockey team (10-6, 3-2 ACC) hosts No. 10 North Carolina (9-6, 3-2 ACC) on Friday, Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. at Turf Field.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• The game will stream online on ACCNX through the ESPN app and is available through participating TV providers that carry ACCN
• Live stats be available
• Links for both are posted on VirginiaSports.com

 NOTING THE CAVALIERS

• This is the final game of the regular season for both teams
• Virginia will honor its six fourth-years and three fifth-years in a postgame Senior Day ceremony (Lizzy Shim, Greer Gill, Rachel Robinson, Annie McDonough, Amber Ezechiels, Lauren Hausheer, Peyton Tollaksen, Makayla Gallen, and Taylor Henriksen)
• The Cavaliers and Tar Heels are currently tied for third place in the conference standings
• The final conference games will all be contested on Friday. The brackets for the ACC Championship will be released sometime Friday evening
• Virginia moved up two spots to No. 14 in this week’s NFHCA Coaches Poll
• Virginia played three games last week, tallying three wins, including a 2-1 victory at No. 6 Syracuse that snapped a nine-game win streak by the Orange. UVA also defeated a pair of CAA opponents by a combined score of 9-2 (5-1 vs William & Mary and 4-1 vs Drexel)
• Amber Ezechiels earned her second ACC Player of the Week honor of the season. She started the month by being named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 5 and closed it out with the Defensive Player of the Week award this week
• Ezechiels scored two goals with an assist as well as anchored UVA’s defensive efforts
• Ezechiels is fifth in the ACC in goals per game (0.50) and fourth in points per game (1.29)
• Ezechiels has a team-best seven goals this season, three of which have been game-winners
• Greer Gill ranks fourth in the ACC in assists per game (0.50)
• Sophomore Esha Shah scored the first goal of her collegiate career last Wednesday against the Tribe. She scored her goal on just her second shot of the season in her seventh game of the season. The striker played in six games last year without taking a shot
• With Shah scoring her first goal of the season, 11 different players have now scored for UVA this year
• Freshman Noa Boterman scored two goals last week, giving her five on the year (ranks second behind Ezechiels’ seven). Boterman joins seniors Ezechiels (18), Annie McDonough (12) and Gill (10) in the list of UVA players contributing double-digit points this season
• Freshman goalkeeper Tyler Kennedy ranks second in the ACC in save percentage (.762) and fourth in saves per game (3.20)

NOTING NORTH CAROLINA

• Preseason No. 1 North Carolina remained at No. 10 in this week’s NFHCA Coaches Poll
• The Tar Heels have won three straight NCAA Championships
• UNC has lost two of its last three games including a 4-0 loss to Liberty on Oct. 10 and a 3-2 overtime loss last Friday against Louisville
• Erin Matson leads the nation in points per game (3.67) and goals per game (1.50). She also leads the ACC in assists per game (0.67)
• UNC is third in the country in scoring average (3.74)
• UNC leads the all-time series 58-17 and has won the last eight meetings
• In the last meeting between the two, Matson scored a goal in overtime to give the Tar Heels a 3-2 victory
• Virginia’s last win over UNC was a 4-2 victory in 2016 during the ACC Championship final 

ON THE HORIZON

• The 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship will be held Nov. 4-7 at J.S. Coyne Stadium in Syracuse, N.Y.
• Quarterfinals will be contested on Thursday, semifinals on Friday and the championship on Sunday at noon. The No. 1 seed earns a bye into the semifinals with the other six teams all beginning play in the quarterfinals
• The brackets for the Championship will be announced on Friday eve