University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Duke (NCAA 2nd Round)
Tar Heels Earn Final Four Spot With Shutout Of Duke
November 16, 2014 | Field Hockey
“We're absolutely thrilled to be going to the final four,” said UNC coach Karen Shelton, in her 34th year at the Tar Heel helm. “I want to congratulate Duke on a great season – they are an outstanding team and I think they brought out the best in us today.
“I'm really proud of our Tar Heels – I thought it was a balanced team effort, led by our seniors. I'm proud of every single player, including the ones who didn't get in today but contribute every single day.”
The final four trip is the sixth in a row for UNC and the 19th in program history. The Tar Heels are six-time NCAA Champions, with the most recent title coming in 2009. Last year, Carolina fell to eventual-champion Connecticut in the NCAA semifinals.
UNC, the No. 1 seed in the field, will face No. 4 Syracuse Friday in an NCAA Tournament semifinal game in College Park, Md. The Tar Heels and Orange have met twice already this fall, with UNC winning 3-0 in the regular season and Syracuse winning 3-2 in overtime in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Nov. 7.
UConn meets Albany in the other NCAA semifinal, to be played on the University of Maryland campus. The winners meet next Sunday (Nov. 23) for the national championship.
Shealy's gamewinner came in the 32nd minute of play on a penalty corner. After the first Tar Heel shot was blocked by a defender, Shealy grabbed the rebound and sent it past Duke goalkeeper Lauren Blazing for the score. The goal was the 11th of the season and the sixth gamewinner for Shealy, a business major from Charlotte.
Bozek scored her first goal in the 57th minute. She and junior Casey Di Nardo found themselves two-on-one with Blazing on a fast break. Blazing saved Di Nardo's shot, but Bozek directed the rebound into the cage for a 2-0 lead.
Her second goal came in the 67th minute, again on the run. This time, it was a pass from junior Emily Wold that set up Bozek's score, her team-high 15th goal of the season. A business major from Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., Bozek has more goals this season than in her two previous years combined (11).
The Tar Heels finished with 23 shots to Duke's seven. Carolina goalkeeper Shannon Johnson made two saves to earn the team's seventh shutout of the season. Blazing finished with a season-high 13 saves for the Blue Devils.
UNC's win was the third of the season over Duke. The Tar Heels won the regular-season matchup 1-0 in Durham on Oct. 17 and also won in the ACC Tournament, 2-1 in overtime in a quarterfinals game on Nov. 6.
No. 1 UNC 3, No. 9 Duke 0
Scoring: UNC – Loren Shealy, 31:10; UNC – Emma Bozek, 56:16; UNC – Bozek (Emily Wold), 66:52
Shots: UNC 23 (11/12); DU 7 (2/5)
Penalty corners: UNC 7 (6/1); DU 4 (2/2)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 2 (Shannon Johnson, 70:00, 0 goals allowed, 2 saves); DU 13 (Lauren Blazing, 70:00, 3 goals allowed, 13 saves)
Records: UNC 19-3, Duke 13-7
