University of North Carolina Athletics
Blank: Tested Tar Heels Ready For Weekend
November 15, 2007 | Field Hockey
Nov. 15, 2007
By Dan Blank
Special to TarHeelBlue.com
Forgive the Tar Heels if they were a little nervous Sunday. After all, they found themselves in a position they'd never been in before. North Carolina was one win away from advancing to the final four, a feat no current Tar Heel has accomplished. The real surprise, though, wasn't on the bracket but on the scoreboard where there was a 0 under `Carolina' with less than 10 minutes to go.
It wasn't too much of a shock to see James Madison without a goal - the Tar Heels had the nation's best defense and set a school record for shutouts after holding the Dukes scoreless Sunday. But the nation's best offense had yet to go this deep into a game without registering a goal - despite outshooting JMU 25-3 overall - and a small level of panic was starting to settle in among the Tar Heels.
ut Britt van Beek converted a turnover into the lone goal of the game with 8:46 remaining to send North Carolina - the nation's top-ranked and only undefeated team - to the semifinals for the first time since 2000.
"It was the game before the final four, we had to win it because we were the big favorite and it was maybe a little bit nervous with not getting the goal, but I thought we kept going," van Beek said. "That's the leadership on our team this year, that we just keep going even though it's not going our way."
The second half lurched with the tension that Carolina's season could end prematurely at any moment. The majority of the game was played on the Tar Heels' end, but they were well aware that all it took was one goofy bounce for them to be staring at a season-ending defeat.
"It's the nature of field hockey ... where you can just totally dominate and not win," said UNC coach Karen Shelton. "It gets nerve-wracking. I think you saw it in our kids -we were a little tense but I think they maintained most of their composure and found a way to win."
Any team, it goes without saying, would prefer to win the easy 4-0 games, like the Tar Heels' opening round victory over Stanford. Or, more to the point, the way North Carolina has been winning all season. UNC displayed an astounding level of dominance as it steamrolled through the regular season. During a 13 game stretch in which they posted 12 of their school-record 15 shutouts, the Heels outscored their opponents 67-2.
ut in each of the last two weekends, Carolina has had its mettle tested. The Tar Heels had to come from behind three times to capture the ACC title against Wake Forest. Not only did UNC have to endure the scoreless battle with James Madison for over 60 minutes, but the game actually ended with the ball in UNC's own net. Only after the referees ruled that the ball did not touch a JMU stick inside the circle was the goal waved off and the victory assured.
"You draw on these experiences," Shelton said. "You don't want it to be this close and I thought had we scored a little bit earlier we might've been able to break it open. But you've got to have mental toughness and these games help us develop more mental toughness."
That mental toughness will be required for the Tar Heels to win two games in College Park, Md., this weekend and capture their fifth national title and first in a decade. The quest starts Friday against fourth-seeded Connecticut, a team they have yet to face this season (the Tar Heels are 3-0 against Wake Forest, which looms on the other side of the bracket). One of the Huskies' two losses - they are 22-2 overall - was against Villanova, a team Carolina stomped 7-2 in September.
"They didn't lose much from last year's team and I thought that they were a legitimate final four team, so we'll expect a battle," Shelton said. "But I like the fact that we have an opponent that we haven't played before. That'll really hold our attention."
ut maybe the most important factor for the Tar Heels - more than playing an unfamiliar team or the recently tested mental toughness - will be improved play from senior Rachel Dawson. Dawson displayed her usual pit bull-level tenacity on the defensive end against James Madison, but the Tar Heels' leading goal scorer was uncharacteristically off on the offensive side. The Tar Heels' leading goal scorer never got into rhythm against the Dukes as Carolina failed to capitalize on any of its 12 penalty corners. Dawson attributed her offensive struggles partly to nerves and partly to the matchup. Dawson conceded afterward that she never plays well against James Madison because they field four of her former Eastern High School teammates, but also acknowledged she needed to step up for the final weekend of the season.
"I personally take responsibility for a lot of the mistakes up there," Dawson said. "I was really off and made some really bad mistakes and I feel bad because I let my team down. Luckily Britt came back and made up for it by scoring the goal."
The likelihood is Dawson won't have a second bad game. She's arguably the best collegiate player going and has played on much bigger stages on the international level. And she's such a fierce competitor that a week to marinate over Sunday's performance will only inspire her more.
If that does happen, these Tar Heels could be poised for another new experience Sunday - the chance to hoist a championship trophy.
