University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 2 Tar Heels Face No. 1, No. 3 This Weekend
October 17, 2003 | Field Hockey
Oct. 17, 2003
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The weekends can't get much more challenging than this for the North Carolina field hockey team.
The Tar Heels, 13-1 and ranked No. 2 in the nation, play at No. 3 Duke on Saturday and host No. 1 Wake Forest on Sunday. "Weekends like this only make you stronger," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "Win or lose, you benefit. We have a great deal of respect for both teams."
Saturday's game, at Williams Field on Duke's East Campus, is scheduled for 1 p.m. In the teams' first meeting of the season, on Oct. 3 in Chapel Hill, UNC won 4-1 with all the scoring coming in the second half. The Tar Heels claimed a point in the Carlyle Cup race with that win, but must win on Saturday to avoid giving half a point back.
Duke, 11-2 overall and 2-2 in the ACC, faced a challenge last weekend similar to the one Carolina tackles this weekend. The Blue Devils defeated No. 3 Maryland 3-1 at home on Saturday then traveled to No. 1 Wake on Sunday and came away with a 1-0 win. Duke is led in scoring by Katie Grant, who has 33 points on 11 goals and 11 assists. Gracie Sorbello has scored 10 goals and handed out six assists for 26 points. Johanna Bischof leads the team in assists with 16 and also has five goals for 26 points.
Sunday's game, at 1 p.m. at Francis E. Henry Stadium, matches the Tar Heels against the only team that has defeated them this season. Wake Forest won the first matchup 2-1 in overtime in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Sept. 26. That game also was a meeting between the nation's first and second-ranked teams.
Wake (12-1, 3-0 CC) is led in scoring by Kelly Dostal, who has 33 points on 15 goals and three assists. Kelly Doton, who scored the gamewinner in the last game against UNC, has eight goals and 12 assists for 28 points.
The Tar Heels are 2-1 in the ACC with their only remaining conference game against Maryland on Oct. 25. (Most of the conference teams play twice per year, with only one result going toward the league standings.)
"Neither game counts toward the ACC standings, but the opportunity to play two of the best in the country back-to-back is a great opportunity for us," Shelton said. "We'll use it as preparation for the postseason and as a barometer to see where we are now."
Freshman midfielder Rachel Dawson and junior forward Kelsey Keeran are tied for the UNC scoring lead with 35 points each. Dawson has 17 goals and an assist and Keeran has 14 goals and seven assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Katy Tran has seven shutouts in this season's 14 games.
