Carolina field hockey is back at Karen Shelton Stadium after nearly a month away, and the return comes with a quick ACC two-step: Boston College on Friday night and No. 13 Syracuse on Sunday afternoon.
The Tar Heels are 7-5 overall and 3-1 in league play, while Boston College arrives at 6-7 and 1-3 in the ACC. Syracuse comes in at 7-4 and 2-2. Both games carry familiar recent history for UNC, because last season’s meetings with the Eagles and Orange both turned into comeback wins.
Against Boston College, Carolina erased a 2-1 deficit. Against Syracuse, it climbed out of a 3-1 hole. That Orange rally stood as the first time Carolina had overcome a two-goal deficit for a win since Aug. 28, 2022, when the Heels trailed Iowa 2-0 at halftime before pulling out a 3-2 overtime victory.
Friday’s matchup with Boston College will be the 30th all-time meeting between the programs. Last year, the Heels needed late pressure to leave with a 2-1 win, getting fourth-quarter goals from Isabel Boere and Sanne Hak after former UNC player Melea Weber had put BC ahead in the third. Weber, who spent her freshman season in Chapel Hill, has one goal and one assist this season for the Eagles.
Sunday’s game against Syracuse will be the 29th meeting between the teams. Carolina’s 4-3 win last year came after another steep climb, with Charly Bruder delivering a hat trick and Dani Mendez adding a goal to help UNC recover from that 3-1 halftime deficit.
There’s plenty of familiarity beyond the scoreboard too. UNC’s Eliza Perrin and Boston College’s Jo VanHoutan both graduated from St.
John’s School in Houston. On the Syracuse side, UNC’s Sofia Ferri and the Orange’s Taylor Bigbie, Tane King, Aubrey Turner, and Addie Youree all graduated from The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa.
UNC’s Jenna Narleski and Syracuse’s Catalina Pravda are both from Basking Ridge, N.J.
A few numbers frame the week for Carolina. The Tar Heels have won 76 games at Karen Shelton Stadium and own a .927 winning percentage there.
Under Erin Matson, UNC is 17-2 in linear TV games. Bruder and Ryleigh Heck are both sitting fifth in program history in their respective career categories, with Bruder now averaging one goal per game this season, a mark that ranks fourth nationally and first in the ACC.
Carolina is also coming off a split on its final road trip. The Heels opened with an 8-0 win over Saint Joseph’s on Friday, a game that doubled as a homecoming for several players and staff from Philadelphia and the surrounding area.
Four of the eight goals came from Pennsylvania natives, and Bruder’s fifth career hat trick highlighted the rout. All three of her goals came in the third quarter during a six-goal burst, which was the most Carolina has scored in a single quarter since the sport moved away from halves in 2019.
The weekend ended differently in Lynchburg, where No. 17 Liberty handed UNC a 2-1 loss on Sunday.
Bruder scored the lone Carolina goal, but the late push came up short. The Flames have given UNC trouble more often than most lately, with the teams now 3-3 over their last six meetings.
Since 2021, only Iowa and Liberty have beaten Carolina more than twice.
Now the scene shifts back to a place that has become the program’s home base. Karen Shelton Stadium opened on Aug. 25, 2018, and it has already hosted a long list of memorable Carolina moments.
The venue is named for Hall of Fame coach Karen Shelton, who led the program for 42 seasons, and it remains the only UNC athletic facility named for a woman. It was also just the second time in school history that an individual coached in a facility bearing their own name.
The stadium has seen its share of postseason action too, including the 2018 ACC Championship and the 2020 and 2023 NCAA Championships. Carolina won all three.
It took more than three years and 42 games before UNC lost there for the first time, falling to Liberty on Oct. 10, 2021.
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