University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Maryland
Tar Heels Suffer Season's First Loss, 4-1
October 24, 2009 | Field Hockey
Oct. 24, 2009
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Top-ranked Maryland scored twice in the span of a minute in the first half and went on to a 4-1 victory over host North Carolina Saturday in Atlantic Coast Conference field hockey play at Francis E. Henry Stadium. The loss was the first of the year for second-ranked UNC, which had allowed a total of four goals in the season's first 15 games and had not given up more than one goal to any opponent.
Maryland, the defending national champion, improved to 17-0 overall and finished ACC play 5-0 to earn the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament, set for Nov. 5, 6 and 8 in Charlottesville, Va. UNC fell to 15-1 on the season and wrapped up league play with a 4-1 record to claim the No. 2 seed.
On a rainy afternoon at Henry Stadium, the Terrapins scored on their first penalty corner of the game, with senior Emma Thomas netting the goal on assists by junior Alicia Morawski and senior Alexis Pappas. "When you get your first corner and score on it after the other team has had some opportunities, that's a huge momentum swing," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "Maryland was able to seize it and expand from there."
Exactly a minute later, UM made it 2-0 when leading scorer Nicole Muracco received a pass from junior Katie O'Donnell and tipped it in from the right side for her 23rd goal of the season. In between those two goals, Carolina senior Melanie Brill, a starting back and the Tar Heels' leading scorer, received a yellow card, sidelining her and putting UNC a player down for a span of eight minutes before Brill re-entered the game with just over a minute to play in the first half.
After leading 2-0 at halftime, the Terrapins picked up two more goals midway through the second half. In the 51st minute of play, Muracco scored her second goal of the game after receiving the ball from senior Kristina Foster just in front of the cage and spinning to send a shot just inside the right post.
Maryland's final goal came in the 58th minute, when O'Donnell sent a hard shot to the left of UNC keeper Jackie Kintzer to put her team up 4-0.
"We didn't play as well as we needed to play on defense, and Maryland gave us a lot to handle," Shelton said. "They're fast and they combine well. They made things happen."
UNC's lone goal came 43 seconds before the final buzzer. After two Carolina shots on a penalty corner were saved by Maryland keeper Alicia Grater, Tar Heel junior Jen Slocum grabbed the second rebound and tipped it in from the right side for her first score of the season. "Our kids didn't stop playing and I like that," Shelton said. "I thought they fought hard the entire game."
Despite the disparity in the score, Carolina led in shots (21-14 overall, 13-6 in the second half) and in penalty corners (8-4 overall, 5-0 in the second half). Grater made 12 saves for the Terrapins, while Kintzer finished with five.
The Tar Heels play their final game of the regular season next Saturday, traveling to Norfolk, Va., to take on Old Dominion. The teams met in Chapel Hill on Sept. 18, with UNC winning 4-0.
No. 1 Maryland 4, No. 2 North Carolina 1
Scoring: UM - Emma Thomas (Alicia Morawski, Alexis Pappas), 25:28; UM - Nicole Muracco (Katie O'Donnell), 26:28; UM - Muracco (Kristina Foster), 50:14; UM - O'Donnell, 57:21; UNC - Jen Slocum, 69:17
Shots: UNC 21 (8/13); UM 14 (8/6)
Penalty corners: UNC 8 (3/5); UM 4 (4/0)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 5 (Jackie Kintzer, 70:00); UM 12 (Alicia Grater, 70:00)
Records: UNC 15-1 (4-1 ACC), UM 17-0 (5-0 ACC)
UNC starters: Jackie Kintzer, 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, Elizabeth Stephens, Jen Slocum
