Nov. 11, 2008

2008 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament bracket

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina field hockey team has received an at-large bid into the 2008 NCAA Field Hockey Championship field and will meet Michigan State on Saturday in East Lansing, Mich. The seventh-ranked Tar Heels, 14-5 and winners of five previous NCAA titles, will make their 25th appearance in the field.

"We're absolutely thrilled to be in the tournament," said UNC coach Karen Shelton, who led her team to its most recent national title in 2007. "We're excited to face Michigan State, an opponent we haven't seen this season, and we're looking forward to playing on Saturday."

The Spartans are 16-5 this season and ranked No. 10 in the final NFHCA coaches' poll, released Tuesday. The UNC-Michigan State game is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Ralph Young Field, following an 11:30 a.m. matchup between No. 13 Louisville (14-6) and sixth-ranked Iowa (16-4), the No. 4 overall seed in the field. The winners will meet Sunday at 2 p.m. for a spot in the NCAA semifinals, to be played in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 21.

UNC is 4-0 all-time against Michigan State, with the most recent meeting coming in 2003. Carolina finished that season in East Lansing, falling 2-1 to Michigan in a first-round NCAA Tournament game hosted by Michigan State.

Maryland is the top overall seed in the 16-team field, with Wake Forest No. 2 and Syracuse No. 3. Five of the six Atlantic Coast Conference teams were included in the bracket, with Duke and Virginia joining Maryland, Wake and UNC.