University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
No. 7 Carolina Earns ACC Shutout
October 18, 2008 | Field Hockey
Oct. 18, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Both Tar Heel seniors scored goals and a redshirt freshman added the other as the North Carolina field hockey team shut out No. 13 Virginia Saturday afternoon, winning 3-0 at Francis E. Henry Stadium. Seventh-ranked UNC improved to 11-3 overall and 3-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play with the win, while the visiting Cavaliers fell to 11-6 overall and 1-2 in the ACC.
"It was important for us to play well as a team today and to score three goals - well-executed, well-constructed goals - that were the results of great team effort," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "I'm proud of the Heels, offensively, defensively and for midfield play - all were outstanding today."
Britt van Beek, a senior midfielder and the Tar Heel captain, scored in the 18th minute of play to give Carolina the only goal it would need. On a pass from junior Illse Davids, she sent a shot past Virginia keeper Amy Desjadon from just in front of the cage. The goal was van Beek's 10th of the season and her fifth gamewinner.
The Tar Heels went up 2-0 in the 26th minute of play on a score by reserve forward Teryn Brill, a redshirt freshman who had entered the game just seconds earlier. She grabbed a ball from sophomore Katelyn Falgowski in front of the goal and shot it past Desjadon for her second score of the season.
UNC's final goal came with just under four minutes remaining in the game when Kate Scholl, who serves as the team's vice-captain and joins van Beek in the two-member senior class, got her first goal of the season. On a penalty corner, junior Melanie Brill sent a hard ball to the left of the cage and Scholl tipped it in to put Carolina up 3-0.
The shutout was UNC's fourth of the season but the first in more than a month, since a 3-0 win at West Chester on Sept. 14.
Carolina had 16 shots to five by Virginia and nine penalty corners to the Cavaliers' two, both of which came in the first half. Sophomore Jackie Kintzer played all 70 minutes in goal for UNC, making one save to earn the shutout. For the Cavaliers, Desjadon split time in the net with Adrienne Ostroff, who came in to play the second half.
UNC benefitted from the return of junior Riley Foster and sophomores Kintzer and Elizabeth Drazdowski. All three were in the starting lineup after missing the past two games while playing for the gold-medal-winning U.S. team at the Junior Pan American Games in Mexico City. But the Tar Heels were without leading-scorer Danielle Forword, who has been diagnosed with a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. Forword, a junior forward from East London, South Africa, injured her right knee in UNC's game at Boston College on Oct. 10. After having been evaluated during the past week, she is scheduled to undergo surgery on Monday. In her 12 games of action this season, she scored a team-high 16 goals and her 1.33 goals-per-game average leads the ACC.
"In athletics, injury is part of the game," Shelton said. "You have to play the hand that you're dealt. Unfortunately, we've lost Dani, who is a superstar. But we have to find a way to compensate. Today was great example of our defense stepping up, our midfield rolling off and controlling the game, and our forwards scoring goals. I'm incredibly proud of our team, but so disappointed for Dani and for us, that we've lost our top scorer."
The Tar Heels get little time to rest before facing another tough opponent from the state of Virginia, as sixth-ranked James Madison is set to visit Henry Stadium Sunday for a 1 p.m. game. "As always, we use the quick turnaround in preparation for NCAA play," Shelton said. "Our job is to put two games together back-to-back, and I'm excited for this opportunity. I think our team feels good and it's up to us to perform tomorrow."
No. 7 North Carolina 3, No. 13 Virginia 0
Scoring: UNC - Britt van Beek (Illse Davids), 17:53; UNC - Teryn Brill (Katelyn Falgowski), 25:27; UNC - Kate Scholl (Melanie Brill), 66:11
Shots: UNC 16 (7/9); UVa 5 (3/2)
Penalty corners: UNC 9 (4/5); UVa 2 (2/0)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 1 (Jackie Kintzer), UVa 7 (Amy Desjadon 3, Adrienne Ostroff 4)
Records: UNC 11-3 (3-1 ACC), Virginia 11-6 (1-2 ACC)
UNC starters: Jackie Kintzer, Illse Davids, Riley Foster, Charlotte Verstraten, Kiki Norbruis, Melanie Brill, Kate Scholl, Britt van Beek, Elizabeth Stephens, Elizabeth Drazdowski, Katelyn Falgowski
UNC substitutes: Teryn Brill, Taryn Gjurich, Jen Slocum, Casey Burns, Louise McNutt
