CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – North Carolina and Duke met last Friday night in Chapel Hill to decide the Atlantic Coast Conference field hockey regular-season title. This Friday night on the blue turf at Virginia's Turf Field, they'll face off again, this time for the conference tournament crown and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament field.
The top-seeded and second-ranked Tar Heels (13-3) are playing for their seventh ACC Championship in a row and the 26th in program history. Duke (16-3) is the No. 2 seed in the tournament and is ranked third nationally.
A week ago, under the lights at the Tar Heels' Karen Shelton Stadium, Carolina won 2-1 in the teams' regular-season meeting.