University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Boston College
Di Nardo Scores Twice As Tar Heels Earn ACC Win
October 19, 2013 | Field Hockey
UNC improved to 11-2 overall and 3-2 in ACC play with the win at Francis E. Henry Stadium, while the visiting Eagles fell to 11-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC.
"I'm very excited to get a big ACC win here today," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "It was a little bit of a tale of two halves - I felt really good about our start and our intensity level and how we played early in the game. Our corner execution was outstanding. In the second half, Boston College made some adjustments and really made it a game."
The Tar Heels got what would prove to be the gamewinner in the third minute of play, on the team's second penalty corner of the afternoon. Sophomore Emma Bozek deflected in a ball from junior Samantha Travers for her fifth goal of the fall.
Carolina's next two goals also came on corners. In the 12th minute, junior Charlotte Craddock sent a hard shot into the cage, assisted by graduate student Janne Grove and sophomore Emily Wold. In the 15th minute, Craddock assisted on a goal, sending a ball to the left of the cage where junior Loren Shealy redirected in to put the Tar Heels up 3-0 at halftime.
In the second half, the Eagles began marching back. "Credit to Boston College," Shelton said. "You're down three goals, what are you going to do? You're going to come after them. That's what good teams do."
On a penalty corner in the 40th minute, junior Emma Plasteras redirected a ball from sophomore Romee Stiekema at the left post and sent it into the goal behind UNC goalkeeper Shannon Johnson for Plasteras' team-high 11th goal of the season. In the 52nd minute BC struck on another corner, with freshman Emily McCoy scoring her eighth goal of the season on an assist from senior Hannah Mulvey.
Eight seconds after BC scored to pull within one, UNC's Rachel Magerman was called for a yellow card, putting the Tar Heels a player down for the next five minutes. At that point, Shelton put junior goalkeeper Sassi Ammer, who had started and played the first half for UNC, back into the game in place of Johnson. The Tar Heel defense was able to keep BC out of the goal and get back to full strength.
In the 63rd minute, sophomore Casey Di Nardo scored the first of two goals to give the Tar Heels a bit of a cushion. Travers passed the ball downfield to Di Nardo, who carried it into the circle and went one-on-one with BC goalkeeper Leah Settipane to score and put the Tar Heels up 4-2. After the UNC goal, the Eagles took a timeout and pulled Settipane in favor of an extra field player. The offensive effort was unsuccessful and Di Nardo eventually took advantage of the goalie's absence, scoring into an empty cage on a pass from Wold in the 69th minute, after which Settipane re-entered the game.
"I'm proud of our group," Shelton said. "I thought it was a great start and a great finish - we had two big goals from Casey Di Nardo to squelch their comeback."
Carolina finished with 10 shots, only three of which game in the second half, and BC had nine. The Eagles had eight penalty corners to UNC's seven, just the second time this season (Michigan was the first) that the Tar Heels have had fewer corners than an opponent.
Next up for UNC is a home game on Sunday against Davidson. The Tar Heels will celebrate Senior Day before the 1 p.m. start, honoring seniors Meghan Drake, Sinead Loughran, Marta Malmberg and Rachel Magerman, as well as graduate student Janne Grove.
No. 3 North Carolina 5, No. 7 Boston College 2
Scoring: UNC - Emma Bozek (Samantha Travers), 2:36; UNC - Charlotte Craddock (Emily Wold, Janne Grove); UNC - Loren Shealy (Charlotte Craddock), 14:56; BC - Emma Plasteras (Romee Stiekema), 39:13; BC - Emily McCoy (Hannah Mulvey), 51:24; UNC - Casey Di Nardo, 62:51; UNC - Casey Di Nardo (Emily Wold), 68:43
Shots: UNC 10 (7/3), BC 9 (4/5)
Penalty corners: UNC 7 (6/1), BC 8 (4/4)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 3 (Sassi Ammer, 52:44, 3 saves, 0 goals allowed; Shannon Johnson, 17:16, 0 saves, 2 goals allowed); BC 4 (Leah Settipane, 64:08, 4 saves, 4 goals allowed; Team, 5:52, 1 goal allowed)
Records: UNC 11-2 (3-2 ACC), BC 11-4 (1-3 ACC)
UNC starters: Sassi Ammer, Loren Shealy, Samantha Travers, Meghan Drake, Emily Wold, Nina Notman, Sinead Loughran, Emma Bozek, Julia Young, Lauren Moyer, Janne Grove
UNC substitutes: Kristy Bernatchez, Charlotte Craddock, Rachel Magerman, Casey Di Nardo, Marta Malmberg, Abby Frey, Shannon Johnson
