A look at the NCAA Division I field hockey final four:
Friday's semifinals:
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Syracuse, 2 p.m. ET
No. 12 Albany vs. No. 3 Connecticut, 4:45 p.m. ET
Sunday's championship:
North Carolina/Syracuse winner vs. Albany/Connecticut winner, 1 p.m. ET
Site: All games at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex, College Park, Maryland
No. 1 North Carolina
Record: 19-3
How it advanced: Defeated No. 20 Liberty 2-1 in the first round and No. 9 Duke 3-0 in the quarterfinals
Coach: Karen Shelton (34th year at North Carolina), 587-149-9 overall and at North Carolina
NCAA titles: Six (1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2007, 2009)
Notable: North Carolina has reached the final four seven of the past eight years and 19 times overall. ... The Tar Heels finished the season as the No. 1 team in the NFHCA National Coaches poll. They have held the No. 1 spot since a Sept. 5 victory over Maryland. ... North Carolina fell 3-2 to Syracuse in overtime in the ACC tournament semifinals. The Tar Heels beat the Orange 3-0 in Chapel Hill on Sept. 12. ... Five players have scored 58 of North Carolina's 77 goals this season: junior Emma Bozek (15 goals, 10 assists), junior Nina Notman (11 goals, nine assists), senior Loren Shealy (11 goals, nine assists), senior Charlotte Craddock (12 goals, one assist) and junior Casey Di Nardo (nine goals, three assists). ... Shealy is a Robertson scholar, part of a prestigious program that has students take classes at both North Carolina and Duke. She is a two-time winner (2012, 2013) of the NCAA Elite 89 Award as the player at the final four with the highest cumulative GPA.
No. 4 Syracuse
Record: 17-5
How it advanced: Defeated Boston University 2-1 in the first round and No. 6 Penn State 3-1 in the quarterfinals
Coach: Ange Bradley (18th season, eighth at Syracuse), 275-96-2 overall, 139-34 at Syracuse
NCAA titles: None
Notable: Syracuse is in its third final four in program history. Twice before the Orange advanced to the semifinals, falling to Wake Forest (2008) and North Carolina (2012). ... Junior Emma Russell leads the Orange with 20 goals and four assists. ... Syracuse lost three straight games at the end of September. Since the start of October, Syracuse is 10-2 with victories over No. 1 North Carolina, No. 5 Louisville, No. 6 Penn State, No. 6 Duke and No. 9 Boston College. ... This will be the second time in three seasons Syracuse will face North Carolina in the national semifinals. Syracuse lost 6-1 in the 2012 national semifinals. ... Syracuse and North Carolina have split their past four meetings. In 2014, UNC scored a 3-0 win at home in the regular season and Syracuse responded with a 3-2 overtime win in the ACC tournament semifinals. Last year, Syracuse won 1-0 at home in the regular season and UNC defeated Syracuse 1-0 in the ACC tournament semifinals. ... Syracuse is one of three teams (North Carolina, Maryland) to play in two of the past three final fours.
No. 12 Albany
Record: 20-2
How it advanced: Defeated Wake Forest 2-1 in the first round and No. 2 Maryland 2-1 in the quarterfinals
Coach: Phil Sykes (12 seasons, including 11 at Albany), 148-88 overall, 145-75 at Albany
NCAA titles: None
Notable: Albany was 0-3 in the NCAA tournament prior to this season. ... The Great Danes handed Maryland only its second NCAA tournament loss on its home field. ... Albany owns a 14-game win streak, the longest in the nation. ... The America East champion last lost on Sept. 21 to Virginia, 3-2 in overtime. The previous loss came to Syracuse 2-1 on Sept. 6. ... Sophomore Paula Heuser (29 goals, 11 assists) has 69 points, second nationally. ... Sophomore keeper Maxi Primus has recorded 10 shutouts.
No. 3 Connecticut
Record: 18-3
How it advanced: Defeated Kent State 6-1 in the first round and Stanford 3-1 in the quarterfinals
Coach: Nancy Stevens (36 seasons, including 25 at Connecticut), 593-177-24 overall, 413-129-8 at UConn
NCAA titles: Three (1981, 1985, 2013)
Notable: The defending national champions reached the final four for the 12th time. UConn has advanced to the semifinals in five of the past nine years and seven times under Stevens, who became the sport's all-time winningest coach last season. ... Big East champion UConn has won 12 straight games since losing 2-1 to North Carolina on Sept. 28 and has scored 55 goals in that span. ... Freshman Charlotte Veitner leads the Huskies with 18 goals, including five in the tournament. The German also is No. 1 on the team in points (48), assists (12), shots (66) and shots on goal (47) and is tied with Casey Umstead in game-winning goals (5).