Tar Heels Open Homestand With 8-0 Win

Wednesday, September 16

Chapel Hill, N.C.

6:00 PM

North Carolina

Radford

No. 4 UNC Opens Home Schedule Against No. 2 Wake Forest

September 16, 2009 | Field Hockey

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Sept. 16, 2009

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The second-ranked North Carolina field hockey team opened a four-game homestand Wednesday with an 8-0 win over visiting Radford. On a rainy evening at Francis E. Henry Stadium, the Tar Heels got two goals each from seniors Illse Davids and Danielle Forword and improved to 7-0 with a fourth consecutive shutout. The Highlanders fell to 2-3 with the loss.

"I like our overall development," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "I think we're improving as a team both offensively and defensively. A lot of people had a chance to play tonight and everybody's contributing. There's a very nice team vibe right now and we have to keep that going."

UNC got the gamewinner just 2:35 into the action on the second of two consecutive penalty corners. Senior Melanie Brill picked up her team-high 11th goal of the season on a direct shot, assisted by senior Riley Foster and junior Katelyn Falgowski. Just under six minutes later, Forword, the team captain, dribbled into the circle from the right side and sent a reverse-stick shot into the cage to put UNC up 2-0. The Tar Heels took a three-goal lead in the 27th minute of play after Davids regained a ball she had lost and fired a shot from the left side of the cage.

Carolina increased its lead early in the second half, when junior Elizabeth Drazdowski grabbed the rebound after a save by Radford goalkeeper Jennifer Wisniewski and fired the ball back into the cage to make the score 4-0 in the 37th minute of play. Five minutes later, Davids, the team's vice-captain, picked up her second goal of the game and third of the season on a hard shot from the top of the circle.

In the 55th minute, sophomore Elizabeth Stephens dribbled into the circle and fired a shot into the left side of the cage to make the score 6-0. The Tar Heels' seventh goal came from freshman Kelsey Kolojejchick, who scored her eighth of the season on a shot from the front of the cage. The final goal came with 1:35 to play, when Forword scored her second of the game off a pass from Kolojejchick on the right side.

For the game, UNC had 31 shots to two by Radford. The Tar Heels had six penalty corners, all in the first half, while the Highlanders drew both of their corners in the second half. Wisniewski finished with 12 saves, eight of them in the first half, in UNC's 20 shots on goal. Junior Jackie Kintzer and senior Brianna O'Donnell split the shutout for UNC, each playing a half in goal.

Next up for the Tar Heels is a Friday evening game with Old Dominion, which visits Henry Stadium for a 6 p.m. start. ODU is the only one of UNC's traditional rivals that holds a series edge over the Tar Heels, although Carolina has won the last four in a row to narrow the gap to 33-32-2 in the Lady Monarchs' favor. Although Old Dominion is 2-4 on the season, the team is ranked No. 15 in the most recent national poll and Shelton expects the game to be as much of a battle as always.

"I will never underestimate them," Shelton said. "We have great rivalries with a lot of teams, but the historic rival with North Carolina is Old Dominion. I don't think that will change as long as Beth Anders is the coach there. We just hope to have a nice crowd and to play well at home."

No. 2 North Carolina 8, Radford 0
Scoring: UNC - Melanie Brill (Riley Foster, Katelyn Falgowski), 2:35; UNC - Danielle Forword, 8:13; UNC - Illse Davids, 26:34; UNC - Elizabeth Drazdowski, 36:24; UNC - Davids, 41:52: UNC - Elizabeth Stephens, 54:15; UNC - Kelsey Kolojejchick, 65:21; UNC - Forword (Kolojejchick), 68:25
Shots: UNC 31 (19/12); RU (1/1)
Penalty corners: UNC 6 (6/0); RU 2 (0/2) Goalkeeper saves: UNC 0 (Jackie Kintzer, 0, 35:00; Brianna O'Donnell, 0, 35:00); RU 12 (Jennifer Wisniewski, 12, 70:00)
Records: UNC 7-0, Radford 2-3