GoHeels Exclusive: Field hockey wins at home away from home, other Olympic sports notes

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

With a new on-campus stadium under construction, the North Carolina field hockey team has practiced twice a week at Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium throughout the season.

But Saturday's contest against No. 10 Boston College marked the seventh-ranked Tar Heels first "home" game at Williams Field. Still, despite the change of scenery, the result didn't vary from a majority of those at Henry Stadium, where UNC compiled a 147-26 record from 1999-2016

Ashley Hoffman's overtime goal lifted the Tar Heels to a 2-1 win over the Eagles. Then, with Sunday's 3-0 victory over 13th-ranked James Madison, UNC improved to 6-2 on the season and 4-2 against ranked opponents.

The Tar Heels conclude a three-game homestand against Davidson on Tuesday. Once it's finished, the team will have just three home games remaining, including the contest against Duke on Oct. 20.

The current situation might not be ideal. But UNC is inching closer toward what's to come – a new facility on the current site of Ehringhaus Field in 2018 – as players concentrate on what they can control on the field.

Ilse returns for cross country

When the women's cross country team took second place in its first race of 2017, the Elon Opener on Sept. 2, it did so without junior Morgan Ilse, an All-ACC selection in 2016.

But in her first race of the season, Ilse helped elevate the Tar Heels to a first-place finish at the Mountains to Sea Open Saturday in Boone, North Carolina, winning the 5k meet with a time of 17:13.61.

Both the men and women got off to slow starts at the Elon Opener. However, both teams gained top position early Saturday and never looked back, as the men also took first place in the 8k race before facing national competition at the Louisville Classic on Sept. 30.

Fountain cards career-best

After shooting a 12-over-par 292 in the second round, the men's golf team entered the final round of the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational Sunday in 13th place and looking to end the weekend on a positive note.

Behind a career-best performance by junior Preyer Fountain, the Tar Heels did just that at the Olympia Fields Country Club's North Course.

On a day when UNC shot a 5-over 285, the fourth-best team score of the round, Fountain carded a career-best 1-under 69 to lead the team to a tie for ninth place with California. The Tar Heels jumped four positions in the standings from the second round, the best improvement by any of the 15 teams in the field on Sunday.

Bergner continues hot start

Two weeks ago, Ava Bergner shot a 1-over 220 to lead the women's golf team at the Ocean Course Invitational, her first collegiate tournament. And in her second, she proved to be just as impressive.

At this weekend's Mason Rudolph Championship, Bergner finished tied for 18th with a 4-under 212, leading UNC to an 11th-place finish in the nationally competitive tournament.

Bergner has registered three under-par rounds, two even-par rounds and a 72.00 stroke average this season. That marks the best start by a UNC freshman since Casey Grice recorded three under-par rounds, an even-par round and a 71.83 stroke average through her first two tournaments in 2010.

Lindley leads men's soccer to win

The men's soccer team saw few scoring opportunities during Saturday's match against Duke. But when they arose, Cam Lindley ensured the Tar Heels took advantage.

Lindley tallied two assists, both on set pieces, in No. 8 UNC's 2-1 victory over the 23rd-ranked Blue Devils at Macpherson Stadium in Browns Summit, North Carolina. His seven assists on the season tie him for the ACC lead.

Lindley's first assist Saturday came in just the eighth minute, when Alan Winn scored on a cross from Lindley to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead. However, UNC managed just one more shot over the next 32 minutes.

Then, after Duke tied the game in the 32nd minute, Lindley's corner in the 40th found the head of Jelani Pieters, who deflected the ball to Mauricio Pineda for the game-winning goal.

Women's soccer upends Florida State

Entering Sunday's ACC opener at 16th-ranked Florida State, 10 days had passed since the women's soccer team's most recent match, a 1-0 loss at fifth-ranked Penn State on Sept. 7.

And in a 1-0 victory over the Seminoles, the 10th-ranked Tar Heels appeared to take advantage of the extra rest en route to their first win in Tallahassee, Florida since 2011.

Multiple UNC starters were sidelined because of injuries. But Anson Dorrance relied on the team's depth, with 17 players seeing minutes. Florida State, meanwhile, played just 13 players.

The most notable contribution by a Tar Heel reserve came in the 58th minute, when Dorian Bailey headed in a redirection from Abby Elinsky for what proved to be the game-winning goal.

Peck shines in fall play

In the men's tennis team's first tournament of fall play, Josh Peck cruised to a championship win in the A2 draw at the Duke James Bonk Invite, held at Cary Tennis Park.

Peck, the third seed in the draw, defeated N.C. State's Georgiy Malyshev 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday's final. All four of Peck's victories in the tournament came in straight sets.

Simon Soendergaard also reached the final of the A1 draw. However, he fell to Duke's Spencer Furman, the top seed in the draw. Furman won 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 over Soendergaard, the No. 2 seed.

Busy opening weekend for women's tennis

The women's tennis team opened fall play this weekend by sending players to two different tournaments, the Hall of Fame ITA Grass Court Invitational in Newport, Rhode Island, and the Duke Bonk Invite. And the Tar Heels found success at both.

No. 22 Jessie Aney led UNC at the Grass Court Invitational. Participating in the Kim Clijsters Flight, she won her first two singles matches before falling 6-7, 6-1, 10-7 against No. 15 Anna Danilina of Florida on Sunday.

However, Aney still earned a wildcard into the qualifying draw of a $25,000 pro circuit event because Danilina is ineligible for the USTA wildcard. The only stipulation was the winner had to be an American to earn the wildcard – Danilina is from Moscow, Russia.

No. 65 Makenna Jones stood out for the Tar Heels at the Duke Bonk Invite, winning her bracket Sunday by defeating Duke's Kelly Chen 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Carlton flashes versatility

At 6-foot-7, redshirt freshman Holly Carlton might be the most versatile player in college volleyball. And this weekend, her unique skillset was on full display.

In No. 24 UNC's 3-2 loss (25-17, 25-27, 19-25, 25-14, 15-11) against Loyola Marymount on Friday, Carlton set all six rotations in the first set. She then transitioned to setter/hitter and almost recorded a triple-double, finishing with 28 assists, 13 digs and nine kills.

As if that performance wasn't impressive enough, Carlton outdid it during Sunday's 3-2 win (25-22, 21-25, 25-18, 18-25, 15-8) over Coastal Carolina.

Carlton posted 25 assists, 10 digs and a career-high 10 kills against the Chanticleers, marking the first triple-double by a Tar Heel since McKenzie Byrd's against Wake Forest on Nov. 6, 2005 and UNC's third in the rally-scoring era (since 2001).

University of North Carolina Athletics

GoHeels Exclusive: Field hockey wins at home away from home, other Olympic sports notes

Players Mentioned

Ashley Hoffman

Related Videos