No. 1 UNC Earns Second 3-0 Shutout

Sunday, August 29

Chapel Hill

12:00 PM

North Carolina

Iowa (ACC-Big Ten Challenge)

August 29, 2010 | Field Hockey

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Aug. 29, 2010

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

Coach Karen Shelton's postgame comments (.mp3)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina field hockey team earned a second-straight 3-0 shutout on Sunday, beating Iowa at Francis E. Henry Stadium to wrap up ACC-Big Ten Challenge play with a pair of wins. The top-ranked Tar Heels improved to 2-0 on the season, while No. 19 Iowa fell to 0-2.

The weekend was a victorious one for the Atlantic Coast Conference, which won all four of its games against the Big Ten. Both UNC and Wake Forest won on Saturday and Sunday, with the Demon Deacons wrapping up play Sunday afternoon with a 5-1 victory against Michigan. The annual season-opening event rotates between the campuses of the four schools.

"Iowa is a quality team," said UNC coach Karen Shelton. "Fortunately for us, I think yesterday identified some areas we needed to work on. We watched the videotape this morning and we were able to make some adjustments. Overall, I was really pleased with our defensive effort, from the front to the back, and our level of work ethic. Yesterday I think we were more reactive than proactive. Today we came out and forced the action."

Saturday against Michigan, UNC didn't score until the second half, but on Sunday the Tar Heels did all their scoring before halftime. Carolina got on the board in the 19th minute, when sophomore Caitlin Van Sickle found the ball just in front of the cage after Hawkeye goalkeeper Kathleen McGraw saved the initial shot on a penalty corner. Van Sickle's goal off the rebound was the first of her career.

Just over 10 minutes later, UNC made it 2-0 on another penalty corner. Freshman Marta Malmberg sent the ball to the right of the goal and sophomore Kelsey Kolojejchick redirected it in for her second score of the weekend.

The final goal came 3:20 before halftime, when junior Taryn Gjurich grabbed a cross from classmate Elizabeth Stephens and sent her shot past McGraw to make the score 3-0.

UNC outshot the Hawkeyes 18-1, with the first Iowa shot of the game coming with just over five minutes remaining. The Tar Heels led 8-0 on penalty corners.

McGraw made eight saves, while Tar Heel goalkeepers Jackie Kintzer and Caitlin Powers shared the shutout.

Next up for the Tar Heels is a trip to Winston-Salem to meet No. 6 Wake Forest (2-0). The teams will meet at Kentner Stadium on Friday at 3 p.m. Although the two are ACC rivals, this meeting will not count toward the conference standings. This year's designated conference meeting between the two is on Oct. 2. in Chapel Hill.

On Sunday, Carolina was still without senior captain Katelyn Falgowski, who continues to recover from a concussion suffered last week in practice. Her status for Friday's game is indefinite. "I was exceptionally proud of two shutouts and not having our senior captain, our best player, and to me she's the best player in the country," Shelton said. "We didn't have her all weekend. To beat two great teams and to do it with two shutouts is a heck of an accomplishment."

The weekend was a big one for the Dawson family of Berlin, N.J. Two sisters, Meghan and Melanie, play for UNC, while another, Hannah, plays for Michigan. Meghan, a redshirt junior, was in the starting lineup for both Tar Heel games. Hannah, also a junior in eligibility, started both games for the Wolverines, putting the sisters on opposite sides of the field on Saturday. Melanie, a freshman, did not see action. The family ties go even deeper than the trio in uniform over the weekend. Another sister, Rachel, was National Player of the Year at UNC in 2007, and a banner with her picture hangs on the fence at Henry Stadium. And the two oldest Dawson sisters, Natalie and Sarah, both played at Iowa, which also participated in the weekend event.

No. 1 North Carolina 3, Iowa 0
Scoring: UNC - Caitlin Van Sickle, 18:57; UNC - Kelsey Kolojejchick (Marta Malmberg), 29:48; UNC - Taryn Gjurich (Elizabeth Stephens), 31:40
Shots: UNC 18 (9/9); Iowa 1 (0/1)
Penalty corners: UNC 8 (4/4); Iowa 0
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 0 (Jackie Kintzer, 61:45; Caitlin Powers, 8:15); Iowa 8 (Kathleen McGraw, 8, 70:00)
Records: UNC 2-0, Iowa 0-2