INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Fresh off winning the program’s second CAA Championship, William & Mary is headed to North Carolina for the opening round of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship. The Tribe takes on Northeast Conference Champion Sacred Heart in the opening round game in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m.
The winner of the Tribe-Pioneers match-up faces the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed and reigning national champion North Carolina in the first round at noon on Friday, Nov. 10. The other first-round contest in Chapel Hill will be Rutgers vs. Ivy League Champion Harvard at 2:30 p.m.
The Green and Gold will make its fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament and first since 2018. The Tribe also made appearances in 2000 and 2002. In its last trip in 2018, W&M defeated Monmouth, 3-2, in the opening round, before falling to North Carolina in the first round.
The Tribe (11-8) won the CAA Championship in come-from-behind fashion on Sunday afternoon in Newark, Del. W&M twice rallied from a goal deficit, before knocking off league regular season champion Monmouth, 3-2, behind Lauren Curran’s hat trick. Her third and final tally came off a penalty corner in the seocnd OT period to lift the Tribe to the title. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the CAA Championship.
Sacred Heart won the NEC Championship for the second time in program history and first since 2005 with a 1-0 overtime win over Wagner on Sunday. Isabelle Chamberlain, who leads SHU in scoring with 23 points on 10 goals and three assists, scored the game-winner in overtime. She was an All-NEC First Team choice, while freshman Madelyn Kidd, who has five goals and five assists on the year, was selected to the second team.
The Tribe and Sacred Heart will meet for the first time. W&M and Sacred Heart have one common opponent on the year in Monmouth. The Tribe downed the Hawks twice by 3-2 scores, including the CAA title match, while SHU suffered a 6-1 home loss to Monmouth.
