University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Wake Forest
UNC Falls At ACC Tournament
November 7, 2008 | Field Hockey
Nov. 7, 2008
DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina was eliminated from Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Tournament play Friday, falling to Wake Forest 2-1 in a semifinal game at Duke's Jack Katz Stadium. The No. 6 Tar Heels, seeded second in the tournament, dropped to 14-5 while No. 2 Wake, the tournament's third seed, improved to 19-2 on the year.
"I'm disappointed for our team not to advance to the ACC Championship game," said UNC coach Karen Shelton, who has led the Tar Heels to 16 conference crowns, most recently in 2007. "I thought they fought very hard. It was a well-played game by both teams and we just weren't able to find the goal a second time tonight. I can't fault the girls for their effort - they really tried hard and I'm proud of them for that."
Carolina and Wake split their regular season meetings, with each team winning a close game on its home field. In Winston-Salem on Sept. 5, the Demon Deacons won 2-1 in penalty strokes. In Chapel Hill on Oct. 4, UNC won 4-3.
Friday, the Demon Deacons scored first, just 4:23 into the match. On a penalty corner, junior Melissa Martin sent the ball in to Aileen Davis, also a junior, who sent a shot past UNC goalkeeper Jackie Kintzer to put Wake up 1-0.
Carolina tied the game at 1-1 just before halftime, scoring on a penalty corner of its own. Senior Kate Scholl inserted the ball to senior Britt van Beek, who stopped it for a shot by sophomore Kiki Norbruis. The goal was Norbruis's fifth of the season.
Wake Forest took the lead for good eight minutes into the second period when senior Minou Gimbrere fired a pass from just outside the circle and senior Michelle Kasold deflected it into the net.
Following a timeout with 6:28 to play, Shelton pulled Kintzer and the Tar Heels played the rest of the game with an extra field player in an effort to even the score.
UNC had 13 shots, seven in the second half, to Wake's 10 and six corners to five by the Demon Deacons.
North Carolina now awaits the announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket, which will be set on Tuesday evening. The selection show will be streamed online at NCAA.com beginning at 8 p.m. UNC, the defending national champion, has made 24 previous NCAA Tournament appearances.
No. 2 Wake Forest 2, No. 6 North Carolina 1
Scoring: WFU - Aileen Davis (Melissa Martin), 4:23; UNC - Kiki Norbruis (Kate Scholl, Britt van Beek), 34:12; WFU - Michelle Kasold (Minou Gimbrere), 43:08
Shots: UNC 13 (6/7), WFU 10 (5/5)
Penalty corners: UNC 6 (3/3), WFU 5 (3/2)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 1 (Jackie Kintzer ); WFU 5 (Crystal Duffield)
Records: UNC 14-5, WFU 19-2
UNC starters: Jackie Kintzer, Illse Davids, Riley Foster, Charlotte Verstraten, Taryn Gjurich, Kiki Norbruis, Melanie Brill, Kate Scholl, Britt van Beek, Elizabeth Drazdowski, Katelyn Falgowski
UNC substitutes: Teryn Brill, Elizabeth Stephens, Jen Slocum
