June 2, 2008

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest Field Hockey squad has unveiled its schedule for the 2008 season, which includes ten home matches and six opponents that finished the 2007 season ranked in the NFHCA's Top 10.

The Deacons will open the season with the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, featuring Iowa and Michigan on August 30 and 31. The teams are the Wake Forest's highest ranked non-conference opponents of the season, with Iowa finishing fifth in final National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll and Michigan ranking sixth.

Other top non-conference matches include a home contest against seventh-ranked James Madison on September 7 and a road match vs. No. 8 Michigan State on October 11.

League play will begin on September 13 with Duke, though the Deacs will face defending national champion North Carolina in Winston-Salem on September 5 for a match decision that won't count in the conference record. Wake Forest will meet the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill on October 4 for the official league match.

The Atlantic Coast conference placed all six of its teams in the final NFHCA poll in 2007, with North Carolina leading the field at No. 1, followed by Wake Forest at No.2, Maryland at No. 3, Duke at No. 12, Boston College at No. 16, and Virginia at No. 18. In this season's ACC slate, the Deacons will host Duke and Maryland at Kentner Stadium.

For post-season play, the Deacons will head to Durham for the Duke-hosted ACC Tournament November 5-9. Following early NCAA matches at regional sites, the University of Louisville will host the Final Four in Louisville, Ky.

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