William & Mary to Open NCAA Tournament on Wednesday
Hunter Peters
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Nov. 7, 2023) – William & Mary opens play in the NCAA Tournament against Sacred Heard on Wednesday afternoon. The Tribe (10-8, 4-2 CAA) and Pioneers (9-10, 4-3 NEC) will meet in the Opening Round of the NCAA Tournament at 2 p.m. from Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. on the campus of the University of North Carolina.
William & Mary won its second-ever CAA Field Hockey Championship with a 3-2 double-overtime victory over top-seeded Monmouth on Sunday. The Tribe advanced to the conference final following a 2-0 win over second-seeded Drexel last Friday.
Lauren Curran, the CAA Tournament MOP, and Pyper Friedman, a First Team All-CAA honoree, accounted for W&M’s five goals in the conference tournament. Friedman tallied both goals in the semifinals for her third multi-goal effort this season, and Curran recorded her second career hat trick, including the game-winning goal, to send the Tribe back to the NCAA Tourney.
Curran ranks second in the CAA with 31 points and 14 goals this season. The graduate forward has 20 points on 10 goals in the past six games, with three multi-goal efforts during that span. Friedman is second on the squad with 20 points this season, recording seven goals and a team-best six assists.
Sacred Heart won back-to-back overtime contests in the NEC Championship, defeating the second seed, Saint Francis, 1-0 in the semifinals before a 1-0 win over top-seeded Wagner in the championship match.
Isabelle Chamberlain, a First Team All-NEC selection, registered both goals for the Pioneers, including the game-winner in the final. The senior midfielder leads SHU with 23 points and 10 goals this season, ranking second in the NEC in goals. Chamberlain has scored one goal in four straight contests entering the NCAA Tournament.
Samantha Maresca played 140:31 in the cage without surrendering a goal in the conference tournament. Maresca made 18 saves over the weekend, including 13 in the championship final, for her fourth clean sheet this season and third in a row. She ranks second in the NEC with 125 saves this fall.
It will be the first meeting between William & Mary and Sacred Heart in field hockey. The Tribe is making its fourth NCAA appearance and holds a 1-3 record all-time in the national tourney. The Pioneers are back for the second time in program history. SHU dropped its lone NCAA Tournament contest in 2005.
The winner of the Tribe-Pioneers match-up faces the 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.
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