Six ACC field hockey teams earned bids to the 2014 NCAA Field Hockey Championship, announced Sunday night by the NCAA Field Hockey committee. The league claimed five of the eight at-large spots in the tournament and two of the four host sites were awarded to ACC programs.
North Carolina earned the top overall seed and will host first and second round games. Syracuse was also selected as a host site and enters the field as the No. 4 seed. Wake Forest clinched the league’s automatic berth by winning the ACC Championship, while Boston College, Duke, and Louisville claimed at-large bids and will begin tournament play on the road.
The announcement marks the second-straight year that at least six ACC teams have earned a postseason bid, while at least half of the league has claimed a tournament spot for 20 straight years.
North Carolina (17-3), the top overall seed in the tournament for the third time in the past four years, will face the winner of the Richmond/ Liberty play-in game. The Tar Heels will be making their 31st appearance in the tournament in the last 32 years. Duke (12-6) will also open tournament play in Chapel Hill and will face Big Ten champion Northwestern in the first round. Both the Tar Heels and Blue Devils advanced to the national semifinals last season, with Duke finishing as the national runner-up.
Syracuse (15-5) earned a postseason bid for the seventh consecutive year and second straight as a host site. The Orange will take on Boston University in the first round. Boston College (13-6) will play Penn State in the opening round at Syracuse.
ACC champion Wake Forest (14-6) is in the field for the 14th time in the last 16 years and will face Albany in the first round in College Park, Maryland.
Louisville (15-5) is headed to Storrs, Connecticut, and will open tournament play against Stanford. The Cardinals are making their fourth tournament appearance in program history and first since 2008.
The six ACC tournament teams are ranked in the top 11 spots in the NFHCA Top 20, and have all been ranked during the entire season. The league combined to go 70-11 against nonconference competition, the best record of any conference, and was 19-4 against NCAA tournament teams during the regular season.
The first round on Saturday, Nov. 15, and the second round on Sunday, Nov. 16, will be held at campus sites. The semifinals and championship, hosted by the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, will be played on Nov. 21 and 23.