University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Duke
No. 2 UNC Picks Up 2-1 Win At Duke
October 11, 2009 | Field Hockey
Oct. 11, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. - Freshman Kelsey Kolojejchick's goal with less than five minutes on the clock gave the second-ranked North Carolina field hockey team a 2-1 win at No. 14 Duke Sunday afternoon. Although the Tar Heels saw their streak of nine shutouts come to an end, they preserved their unbeaten season and improved to 13-0 on the year. Duke fell to 6-7 overall.
The game did not count toward the conference standings, as the teams' meeting in Chapel Hill on Sept. 26 was the designated Atlantic Coast Conference matchup for this season. With the win, the Tar Heels managed to hold onto the Carlyle Cup point gained in the season's first meeting.
Duke's goal, which came in the 20th minute, was just the third the Tar Heels have allowed this season and the first since a 4-1 win over Wake Forest on Sept. 4. The nine shutouts since then, including a 7-0 ACC win over Duke last month, had tied the conference record for consecutive shutouts.
"This was a very difficult game," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "Duke made every pass a battle - all the credit goes to them. I'm thrilled we were able to find a way to win in the end."
UNC took the early lead in the 17th minute of play. On the team's second penalty corner of the day, junior Katelyn Falgowski fired a shot from the right side of the circle that deflected off an opponent's stick and into the cage from the left. Less than three minutes later, at the 19:42 mark, Blue Devil senior Amie Survilla scored on a penalty corner to even the game at 1-1.
The score remained knotted there until the 66th minute. On a penalty corner give-and-go, senior Danielle Forword send a hard ball to the right side of the cage, where Kolojejchick was waiting to execute the deflection for her 13th goal of the season. "My first thought was, `Finally,'" said Kolojejchick, a midfielder from Larksville, Pa. "It was a good battle today and a relief to get that goal."
The teams were even on penalty corners (nine) and saves (five), with UNC picking up just one more shot, 13-12.
Sunday's game marked UNC's smallest margin of victory since a 2-1 win over Michigan in the season opener. Since then, the Tar Heels had won each game by three or more goals.
"I thought we made a lot of defensive errors and didn't play a very smart game, but Duke forced us into that," Shelton said. "I hope we can learn from this game."
UNC goalkeeper Brianna O'Donnell played her second complete game of the weekend. The senior had been sharing time with junior Jackie Kintzer, the starter all season, but Kintzer was sidelined by an injury. O'Donnell made four saves Saturday in a 4-0 win over Boston College, then had five more against Duke on Sunday. Heading into the weekend, she had three for the entire season. "I feel very good about Brianna O'Donnell and the role she plays on our team," Shelton said. "We could've played Jackie today, but we had Bri at 100 percent and decided to go with her. We have two outstanding keepers. I'm blessed as a coach to have two like them."
Next up for the Tar Heels is a pair of road games. UNC takes on third-ranked Virginia on Saturday in Charlottesville for an ACC matchup, then will travel on to Harrisonburg, Va., for a Sunday game against James Madison, ranked No. 11 in this week's national poll.
No. 2 North Carolina 2, No. 14 Duke 1
Scoring: UNC - Katelyn Falgowski, 16:49; DU - Amie Survilla, 19:42; UNC - Kelsey Kolojejchick (Danielle Forword), 65:35
Shots: UNC 13 (4/9); DU 12 (7/5)
Penalty corners: UNC 9 (3/6); DU 9 (3/6)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 5 (Brianna O'Donnell, 5, 70:00); DU 5 (Samantha Nelson, 5, 70:00)
Records: UNC 13-0, Duke 6-7
UNC starters: Brianna O'Donnell, Illse Davids, Riley Foster, Melanie Brill, Kelsey Kolojejchick, Elizabeth Drazdowski, Caitlin Van Sickle, Meghan Dawson, Danielle Forword, Katelyn Falgowski, Jaclyn Gaudioso Radvany
UNC substitutes: Charlotte Verstraten, Taryn Gjurich, Elizabeth Stephens, Jen Slocum
