University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Wake Forest (ACC Tourn.)
Carolina Advances To ACC Semis With 3-2 Win Over Wake
November 8, 2013 | Field Hockey
"I'm really happy to have advanced," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "Credit goes to Wake Forest - they really played well. I was proud that we did not allow a shot in the second half, or a penalty corner. That was the key to the game."
UNC, the tournament's third seed and the third-ranked team in the country, improved to 15-4 on the season with the win and advances to Friday's semifinals. The Tar Heels will face second-seeded Syracuse at 3:30 p.m. The Orange beat host Boston College 3-1 Thursday to advance.
Carolina and No. 2 Syracuse met less than a week ago in the final game of the regular season. Playing in Syracuse, N.Y., last Saturday, the host Orange beat the Tar Heels 1-0.
"Having played them last week makes the turnaround for tomorrow's game easier, but it does the same thing for them," Shelton said. "We know each other well. We know we'll have a challenge against them - they're an outstanding team. But I think our best hockey is still ahead of us."
On Thursday in the quarterfinals, Wake got on the board first, with an unassisted goal by Taylor Rhea in the seventh minute of play. UNC answered three minutes later, when sophomore Casey Di Nardo dove in front of the cage to score on a pass from sophomore Nina Notman. The Tar Heels took the lead in the 20th minute on a goal by Notman, who shot from the front of the cage after getting the ball on a pass from sophomore Emma Bozek from the right side of the circle.
The Demon Deacons answered just over two minutes later, scoring on their only penalty corner of the game as the ball deflected off a defender. Anna Kozniuk had the goal, assisted by Jess Newak and Christine Conroe.
UNC scored its two goals on just five shots in the first half, and Wake got its two on just three shots, with Carolina goalkeeper Sassi Ammer saving the other.
The Tar Heels were able to create more opportunities in the second half, better than doubling their shots to 11, but the first corner of the second half proved to be all they would need. Craddock's score came after a give-and-go with sophomore Emily Wold, who picked up her nation-best 21st assist of the season on the play. After that, the Tar Heel defense held on to earn the win.
"At this point in the season, it doesn't have to be pretty," Shelton said. "All we have to do is survive and advance. I think we made good adjustments and I'm proud of our team for that. We showed composure at the end and all of that helps us as we move forward."
The ACC Tournament semifinals include three of the four teams that were in last year's NCAA Tournament semifinals in UNC, Syracuse and top-ranked Maryland. The Terrapins will face No. 8 Duke at 1 p.m. in Friday's first semifinal game. Duke beat No. 4 Virginia 2-1 Thursday in the first quarterfinals game, while Maryland received a bye as the top seed in the tournament.
No. 3 North Carolina 3, No. 15 Wake Forest 2
Scoring: WFU - Taylor Rhea, 6:24; UNC - Casey Di Nardo (Nina Notman), 9:21; UNC - Nina Notman (Emma Bozek), 19:44; WFU - Anna Kozniuk (Jess Newak, Christine Conroe), 21:51; UNC - Charlotte Craddock (Emily Wold), 40:07
Shots: UNC 16 (5/11), WFU 3 (3/0)
Penalty corners: UNC 6 (3/3); WFU (1/0)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 1 (Sassi Ammer, 70:00, 1 save, 2 goals allowed); WFU 8 (Valerie Dahmen, 70:00, 8 saves, 3 goals allowed
Records: UNC 15-4, Wake Forest 11-8
UNC Starters: Sassi Ammer, Loren Shealy, Samantha Travers, Charlotte Craddock, Meghan Drake, Emily Wold, Nina Notman, Sinead Loughran, Emma Bozek, Abby Frey, Janne Grove
UNC Substitutes: Kristy Bernatchez, Rachel Magerman, Julia Young, Lauren Moyer, Casey Di Nardo, Marta Malmberg
