INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.-- The University of New Hampshire field hockey team will take on Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship as revealed by the NCAA Tuesday evening.
The Wildcats and
Wolverines will square off on Saturday, Nov. 12 at University of North
Carolina's Francis E. Henry Stadium in Chapel Hill. UNC, the number one overall seed in the field of 16 teams, and Ohio will pair up in the other first-round game. The winners will face each other on Sunday at 2 p.m. for a berth to the Final
Four the following weekend in Louisville, Ky.
New Hampshire (17-4)
earned the America East Conference auto-bid with a 4-2 victory over Boston
University in the league's title game on Sunday. UNH was the
tournament's top seed and host after going 4-1 in conference play.
The Wildcats, ranked ninth in the final NFHCA Division I poll earlier today, are
making the program's first NCAA appearance since 2000 when it received
an at-large bid. UNH is making its ninth overall appearance in the
tournament.
Michigan (14-6), ranked eighth nationally, is an at-large bid after falling to Penn State in the Big Ten title game last weekend.
UNH and Michigan share five common opponents from the regular season (Ohio State, Boston U., Northwestern, Stanford, Michigan State). The Wolverines went 3-2 with losses to Ohio State and Stanford, while the Wildcats went 5-1, including two victories over Boston U. and the lone loss to Northwestern.
UNH senior forward Hayley Rausch, the Most Outstanding Player of the America East Championship, scored three goals and assisted on another in the two league tournament games and now is tied for second in Division I with 2.76 points per game this season. Teammate and 2011 America East Offensive Player of the Year Whitney Frates is tied for fourth in the country with 2.75 points per game.