North Carolina
Iowa (ACC-Big Ten Challenge)
UNC Tops No. 13 Iowa, 3-1
September 8, 2013 | Field Hockey
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The top-ranked North Carolina field hockey team emerged from the ACC-Big Ten Challenge undefeated after a 3-1 win over No. 13 Iowa, the host team, Sunday at Grant Field. The Tar Heels are now 4-0 on the season, while Iowa fell to 3-1.
In the second game on Sunday, Wake Forest beat Michigan 2-1 to give Atlantic Coast Conference teams a sweep of the final day's action.
Junior Loren Shealy scored what would prove to be the gamewinner just 1:05 into the action, on an assist from sophomore Emily Wold. After watching UNC's opponent score first in two of the season's first three games, a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard was a welcome sight for UNC coach Karen Shelton. "A goal of ours was to get off to a quick start," she said. "We really played well for the first 15 minutes."
By that point, UNC was up 2-0 following a goal from junior Charlotte Craddock with 15:08 on the clock. She gathered the rebound of her own saved shot and shot again for the goal, her second in as many games of action this fall. (Craddock missed the first two games of the season with a pulled leg muscle.) UNC had 11 shots in the first half, and Iowa made eight saves, including one defensive save by Karli Johansen.
"Throughout the first half, we had a lot of opportunities and I felt like we could have had a few more goals," Shelton said. "Iowa had some really nice saves."
In the 41st minute of play, 5:20 into the second half, Iowa closed within one when Dani Hemeon scored on a corner, one of three the Hawkeyes drew on Sunday. The remainder of the half played out at 2-1 until UNC got its 11th corner just as the clock ran out. With no time remaining, junior Abby Frey grabbed the rebound after a save and scored to make the final 3-1 Carolina.
"Iowa, to their credit, came out of halftime fired up and made some good adjustments," Shelton said. "They scored a goal and after that it was a dog fight for the rest of the game. But we handled it well and it was a good learning experience."
UNC finished the game with 15 shots, 11 of them in the first half. The Tar Heels had 11 penalty corners, nine coming in the first half. Iowa totaled eight shots, six in the second half.
Next up for the Tar Heels is the start of the home schedule. UNC hosts Old Dominion on Friday at 6 p.m. and Radford Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games are at Francis E. Henry Stadium and there is no charge for admission.
No. 1 UNC 3, No. 13 Iowa 1
Scoring: UNC - Loren Shealy (Emily Wold), 1:05; UNC - Charlotte Craddock, 15:08; IOWA - Dani Hemeon (Niki Schultheis), 40:20; UNC - Abby Frey, 70:00
Shots: UNC 15 (11/4), Iowa 8 (2/6)
Corners: UNC 11 (9/2); Iowa 3 (1/2)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 5 (Sassi Ammer, 70:00, 1 goal allowed, 5 saves), Iowa 8 (Kelsey Boyce, 70:00, 3 goals allowed, 8 saves)
Defensive saves: Iowa 1 (Karli Johansen)
Records: UNC 4-0, Iowa 3-1
UNC Starters: Sassi Ammer, Loren Shealy, Kristy Bernatchez, Samantha Travers, Charlotte Craddock, Meghan Drake, Emily Wold, Nina Notman, Emma Bozek, Julia Young, Abby Frey
UNC Substitutes: Rachel Magerman, Sinead Loughran, Lauren Moyer, Casey Di Nardo, Marta Malmberg, Janne Grove
