North Carolina
Virginia
Tar Heels Top Virginia To Stay Perfect In ACC
October 14, 2007 | Field Hockey
Oct. 14, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - One game after seeing its streak of consecutive shutouts end at nine, the North Carolina field hockey team added another one to its season total with a 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference win at Virginia on Sunday afternoon. The top-ranked Tar Heels improved to 16-0 (4-0 ACC) while the No. 15 Cavaliers fell to 8-7 (0-3 ACC).
"I'm very pleased with the win," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "It's meaningful in the ACC standings in that we've secured the first or second seed in the tournament and we won't play on Thursday in the first round. That was something we were going for."
The top two seeds in the ACC field hockey championship, which will be hosted this year by Boston College on Nov. 1, 2 and 4, receive a bye into the semifinals. With only one conference game remaining, against undefeated Maryland on Saturday, the Tar Heels have assured themselves of one of the top two positions.
Against the Cavaliers, UNC took the lead 3:07 into the game on a goal by freshman Katelyn Falgowski, assisted by junior Britt van Beek. Sixteen minutes later, senior Alli Tanner sent a ball into the circle and senior Heather Kendell tipped it in to put UNC up 2-0.
The Tar Heels' third goal came with just under nine minutes remaining in the game. Senior Jesse Gey put back a rebound after a save by Virginia keeper Devon Burnley to put the visitors up 3-0.
The Carolina defense limited Virginia to one shot, while UNC had 16, nine of them in the second half. The Tar Heels drew nine penalty corners to two by Virginia. Cavalier goalkeepers Amy Desjadon and Devon Burnley combined for nine saves. Sophomore Brianna O'Donnell played all 70 minutes for UNC but did not face a shot on goal.
North Carolina's school-record streak of nine shutouts, equal to the NCAA Division I mark, came to an end on Friday when the Tar Heels gave up two goals in a 4-2 win at William & Mary. Sunday's shutout brings the team's season total to 10.
"We discussed the mental breakdowns that we had against William & Mary and the ways that we could have played better," Shelton said. "I think giving up those two goals helped us refocus and it also helped to have back our three national team players."
Gey, fellow senior Rachel Dawson and freshman Katelyn Falgowski returned to the lineup after spending most of the previous week in College Park, Md., playing for the U.S. National Team in a series against Japan. The trio missed the William & Mary game.
Shelton credited senior Laree Beans, a team captain along with Dawson, with guiding the team on Friday and easing the transition as the squad's top three scorers returned on Sunday. "Laree is a leader by example," Shelton said. "She gives great effort and elevates the play of others because she's playing so hard. She did a great job of leading the team on Friday when we were without Rachel, Jesse and Katelyn, and she continued to provide outstanding leadership today."
Next up for the Tar Heels is Saturday's matchup with No. 2 Maryland, the two-time defending NCAA Champion. The game is set for 1 p.m. at Francis E. Henry Stadium in Chapel Hill and will be broadcast live by ACCSelect.com.
No. 1 North Carolina 3, No. 15 Virginia 0
Scoring: UNC - Katelyn Falgowski (Britt van Beek), 3:07; UNC - Heather Kendell (Alli Tanner), 19:15; UNC - Jesse Gey, 61:18
Penalty corners: UNC 9, UVa 2
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 0 (Brianna O'Donnell), UVa 9 (Amy Desjadon 2, Devon Burnley 7)
Records: UNC 15-0 (3-0 ACC), William & Mary 6-8 (1-4 CAA)
UNC starters: Brianna O'Donnell, Illse Davids, Riley Foster, Rachel Dawson, Melanie Brill, Britt van Beek, Jesse Gey, Laree Beans, Xan Funk, Danielle Forword, Katelyn Falgowski
UNC substitutes: Alli Tanner, Kiki Norbruis, Heather Kendell, Hilary Hartman, Elizabeth Drazdowski
