University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Duke
UNC Field Hockey Opens With 3-0 Win Over Duke
August 26, 2000 | Field Hockey
Aug. 26, 2000
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-The University of North Carolina field hockey team opened the 2000 season Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 win over visiting Duke. The game was the season-opener for both teams and with the win, UNC jumps out front in the battle for the Carlyle Cup.
Both teams were scoreless through the first half, with UNC outshooting Duke 7-2 in front of a crowd of 761 at Francis E. Henry Stadium. With 21:30 remaining in the game, Carolina senior Jana Toepel scored the winning goal on a penalty corner, assisted by junior Abbey Woolley and senior Erin Cox. Senior Kristen McCann scored on the next penalty corner, assisted by Toepel, with 14:53 to play. Just over two minutes later, McCann added an unassisted goal on another penalty corner with 12:10 to play.
"We matured a lot in the first half," Toepel said. "In the second half, we came out and improved and that's really positive for us."
Among the UNC players, two made the first starts of their Carolina careers. Sophomore Stephanie Fuller started for the Tar Heels at back and junior Stephanie Seery, an exchange student from Argentina, started in the midfield.
"This was an excellent opening game," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "It was very intense and both teams played hard. It was a battle end-to-end and if Duke had scored first, it might have been a different game."
"I thought our team fought hard and stuck with the game plan," Duke coach Liz Tchou said. "There definitely was a momentum shift after the first goal was scored."
The win puts UNC 1.5 points ahead in the race for the newly-established Carlyle Cup, which will be awarded based on head-to-head UNC-Duke results in 20 sports. Saturday's game was the first of the competition.
Both teams return to action next weekend at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in St. Louis. On Sunday, Sept. 3, at noon, UNC will play Michigan (which won 2-0 at Maine on Saturday). On Monday at 10 a.m., the Tar Heels face Penn State (which lost 4-3 to Old Dominion on Saturday).
Scoring: UNC-Jana Toepel (Abbey Woolley, Erin Cox), 21:30, 2nd, UNC-Kristen McCann (Toepel), 14:53, 2nd, McCann (unassisted), 12:10, 2nd
Shots on goal: Duke 9, UNC 17
Goalkeeper saves: Duke (Erica Perrier) 8, UNC (Amy Tran) 4
Defensive saves: Duke 0, UNC 1
Penalty corners: Duke 6, UNC 10
