Championship Page | Bracket | Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fifth-seeded North Carolina (14-4) scored two second half goals and held on to defeat No. 4 Wake Forest, 3-2, in the first round of the 2017 Field Hockey Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.
                              
With the win, the Tar Heels advance to Friday’s semifinals against top-seeded and defending champion Virginia in a rematch of last year’s ACC title game.
                                      
Hoffman, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, opened the scoring just under five minutes into the game. The junior converted on a penalty corner for her team-leading 10^th of the season.
 
Wake Forest’s Anne van Hoof notched her third goal of the year to tie the game with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first half to send the game to the break tied at 1-1.
 
In the second half, North Carolina’s Feline Guenther and Marissa Creatore found the back of the cage in the 47^th and 57^th minutes, respectively, to give the Tar Heels a 3-1 lead.
 
Jule Grashoff tallied her 16^th of season in the 65^th minute on a penalty corner to bring Wake Forest (12-7) to within one goal, but the Demon Deacons weren’t able to tally the equalizer.
 
The Tar Heels have advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Championship every year since the tournament’s inception in 1983.
 
Isla Bint made seven saves in the cage for the Demon Deacons, who will await word of a potential bid to the NCAA Championship when the field is announced on Sunday night at 10 p.m.
 
North Carolina held a 14-7 advantage in shots and 10-3 in shots on goal. Wake Forest earned six penalty corners to three for the Tar Heels.