Carolina field hockey is back at Karen Shelton Stadium this weekend, and the home-opening slate is a good one. The Tar Heels will host Penn on Friday and No. 2 Princeton on Sunday as part of the annual Conference Crossover.
UNC is trying to shake off a rough start after going 0-2 last weekend, the program’s first 0-2 opening to a season since 2021. Those losses came by one score against No.
14 Michigan and No. 11 Iowa, a tough but understandable beginning for a Carolina team that is replacing 67% of its goal production from last season.
The first chance to reset comes in familiar surroundings. Karen Shelton Stadium opened on August 25, 2018, and has quickly become a centerpiece for Carolina field hockey. Named for the Hall of Fame coach who led the program for 42 seasons, it remains the only UNC athletic facility named after a woman, and it was just the second time in school history that an individual coached in a venue bearing their own name.
The results there have been almost automatic. UNC has won 74 games at Karen Shelton Stadium and owns a .949 winning percentage in 78 games.
It took more than three years and 42 total games before the Tar Heels suffered their first loss in the stadium, falling to Liberty on Oct. 10, 2021.
There’s plenty for Carolina to lean on as the weekend unfolds. Charly Bruder is back after scoring 18 goals last season, which ranked second among all ACC returners. Seven different Heels either made their first start or first appearance in Carolina Blue last weekend, and freshman Sofia Ferri scored in just her second career game, the fastest a Heel has done that since Ryleigh Heck and Ashley Sessa both scored on opening day in 2022.
Friday’s meeting with Penn will be the 10th all-time between the teams, and Carolina has controlled every one of the first nine. The Tar Heels have outscored the Quakers 51-6 in those games and have never trailed.
In last season’s matchup in Princeton, UNC scored six times behind five different goal scorers, including Reese Anetsberger and two goals from Bruder. That night also marked Anetsberger’s first career goal, while Bruder was making her season debut after missing the opening weekend with an injury.
Penn head coach Scott Tupper is 9-7 at the school, and Carolina coach Erin Matson is 3-0 against the Quakers. Matson, along with four of her players, also comes from Pennsylvania.
Sunday brings a bigger test with Princeton, a program Carolina has handled in the series but one that has pushed the Heels at times. This will be the 21st meeting between the teams. UNC leads the series 17-3 and has won 12 straight, with the Tigers’ last victory coming on Nov. 18, 2012 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The most recent matchup went Carolina’s way in a tight one, a 3-2 win in central New Jersey. Eliza Perrin scored her first career goal, Isabel Boere added a pair, and Princeton’s Beth Yeager scored first and assisted late before the Tigers came up short on the equalizer.
Princeton head coach Carla Tagliente is 118-56 at the school, while Matson is 3-0 against the Tigers. The Tigers have never beaten Carolina in 10 meetings with the current head coach.
The full weekend schedule begins Friday with No. 2 Princeton facing No.
18 Old Dominion at 3:00 PM ET, followed by Penn at No. 10 Carolina at 6 PM ET.
On Sunday, Penn meets Old Dominion at 10 AM ET before Princeton visits No. 10 Carolina at 12:30 PM ET.
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