University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Old Dominion
No. 1 Tar Heels Shut Out No. 13 Old Dominion
September 14, 2007 | Field Hockey
Sept. 14, 2007
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Following a two-hour lightning delay and a scoreless first half, the top-ranked North Carolina field hockey team notched three second-half goals to register a 3-0 shutout against No. 13 Old Dominion on Friday night at Francis E. Henry Stadium. The Tar Heels improve to 7-0 with the win, while the Lady Monarchs fall to 1-5 on the year.
The game was scheduled to start at 6 p.m., but didn't get underway until almost 8 due to lightning in the area. "In my career at Carolina, that was the longest delay we've had, but I thought our kids handled it well," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "They stayed loose. Our warmup was great and I felt good from the very beginning. I thought we played the best two halves of hockey we've played all year."
UNC came up with 11 shots and five corners in the first half, but was unable to score as ODU goalkeeper Kelly Driscoll made seven of her 13 saves before the break. After a 0-0 halftime, senior Jesse Gey put Carolina on the board 1:42 into the second half. The Tar Heels drew two penalty corners in a row and on the second, Rachel Dawson took the initial shot, which was saved by Driscoll. The ball bounced off of her and ended up with Gey, who grabbed the rebound and sent it in from the left side of the cage. The goal was Gey's fifth of the season, and all five have been gamewinners.
With 11:29 remaining in the game, redshirt freshman Elizabeth Drazdowski scored to make it 2-0. She received a long pass into the circle from freshman Katelyn Falgowski and sent it in from the left of the goal. The score was her sixth of the year, tied with Dawson for the team lead. Sophomore Danielle Forword scored with 10 minutes on the clock to make it 3-0. After a tackle by Falgowski forced an ODU turnover, Forword took the ball just inside the circle and sent a hard shot into the goal for her third score of the year.
For the game, UNC outshot ODU 25-1, with the Lady Monarchs' shot coming early in the game on their only penalty corner. Driscoll made 13 saves and intercepted several other scoring opportunities.
"I thought overall it was our best team effort," Shelton said. "I thought our forwards worked really hard and our defensive effort was great - to hold Old Dominion to one shot is almost impossible. It was a focus of ours to tighten up our defense, because we'd been giving up a lot. In a way, it was typical Old Dominion-Carolina because they brought out that intensity in us. They're the most intense team we ever play and our kids rose to their level.
UNC returns to action on Sunday, hosting No. 7 Penn State at 1 p.m.
No. 1 North Carolina 3, No. 13 Old Dominion 0
Scoring: UNC - Jesse Gey, 36:42; UNC - Elizabeth Drazdowski (Katelyn Falgowski), 58:31; UNC - Danielle Forword, 60:01
Shots: UNC 25, ODU 1
Penalty corners: UNC 11, ODU 1
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 0 (Brianna O'Donnell, Jackie Kintzer), ODU 13 (Kelly Driscoll)
Records: UNC 7-0, Old Dominion 1-5
UNC starters: Brianna O'Donnell, Illse Davids, Riley Foster, Kiki Norbruis, Rachel Dawson, Melanie Brill, Jesse Gey, Laree Beans, Elizabeth Drazdowski, Danielle Forword, Katelyn Falgowski
UNC substitutes: Alli Tanner, Heather Kendell, Britt van Beek, Hilary Hartman, Xan Funk, Meghan Dawson, Liz Morris, Jen Slocum, Jackie Kintzer, Casey Burns
