The stage was all but set for a Sunday showdown between two of the most storied programs in NCAA Division I field hockey.
But on Sunday, North Carolina won’t be facing Maryland for the fourth consecutive time in the national championship game.
Instead, they’ll take on a fast-paced Princeton team that pulled ahead of the defending national champions in the semifinals with a penalty stroke in overtime to advance to the title game for the first time since 1998.
“As I told the girls before the game, passion, not pedigree would win this game,” coach Kristin Holmes-Winn said after Princeton’s win.
Now the Tar Heels will have to shift their focus away from the possibility of playing a familiar team. Instead, UNC will have one day to prepare for a Princeton team eerily similar to itself.
The Tar Heels have faced 17 teams this season, but never came up against the Tigers.
“We feel like we don’t know much about Princeton,” coach Karen Shelton said.
Princeton and UNC employ similar offensive strategies. Both teams average about five goals while only allowing one goal per game.
The Tiger have outscored opponents 99-20 for the season while the Tar Heels have outscored theirs 112-26.