No. 3 Tar Heels Honor Seniors, Beat No. 19 ODU 5-1

Sunday, November 1

Henry Stadium (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

1:00 PM

North Carolina

(15-2)

Old Dominion

(9-9)

Old Dominion

North Carolina

November 1, 2015 | Field Hockey

Box Score

By: UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Rain couldn't dampen the mood Sunday as the North Carolina field hockey program honored its four seniors and earned a top-20 win over long-time rival Old Dominion at Francis E. Henry Stadium. After trailing early, No. 3 UNC stormed back for a 5-1 win over 19th-ranked Old Dominion to improve to 15-2 on the season. The Lady Monarchs fell to 9-9.

“What a fantastic way to honor our four seniors today,” UNC coach Karen Shelton said. “I felt like that game was important for our team – we've only been down three times all season, this was the third, and I thought we handled being down with composure. I felt like we grew as a team.

“I'm so impressed by this senior class and the leadership they've provided our team. The way we handled that, with the maturity we did, is a reflection on those seniors.”

Prior to the start of the game, which was played in a drizzle throughout, UNC honored seniors Rachel Black (Clemmons, N.C), Casey Di Nardo (Virginia Beach, Va.), Nina Notman (Hamburg, German) and Emily Wold (Freehold, N.J.). The players were met at midfield by their families and friends, receiving balloons and flowers before taking the field.

For just the second time all season, it was the opposition that scored first, with ODU earning a goal on a penalty corner 5:20 into the game. Junior Megan Byas had the goal, assisted by Catalina Barahona. It marked just the third time UNC has trailed all season, and also the first time the Tar Heels have come back from a deficit to win. The team's two losses, at Syracuse and at Wake Forest, were the other times that Carolina was behind in a game this season. This time, the team fought back to maintain a perfect 7-0 record at home.

On Senior Day, the first four Tar Heel goals came from freshmen and sophomores. In the 27th minute, a shot by Wold was saved and sophomore Gab Major grabbed the rebound and scored to tie the game. Three minutes later she scored again to give Carolina the lead for good. Notman sent a hard ball from outside the circle and Major got the inside-the-circle touch, directing it into the cage for a 2-1 lead.

Just before halftime, the Tar Heels got another, with junior Lauren Moyer feeding the ball to sophomore Sam Night, who backhanded a ball past ODU keeper Kealsie Robles from mid-circle.

UNC added two more in the second half. In the 56th minute the Tar Heels scored on a penalty corner, with the goal by freshman Ashley Hoffman and assists to Major and Julia Young.

Fittingly, the final exclamation point for the day came from a senior, with just eight seconds to play. Wold dove to get her stick on a lose ball in the circle and score her 13th goal of the year. UNC's team captain came into the fall with 11 goals in her previous three seasons combined and this year ranks second on the team in goals.

Next up for UNC is the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Charlottesville, Va. The Tar Heels are the No. 3 seed open Thursday at 4 p.m. against sixth-seeded Louisville. The semifinals are set for Friday and the championship for Sunday with all games broadcast on ESPN3 and the Regional Sports Networks.

• At halftime UNC honored Kelsey Kolojejchick, who played for the Tar Heels from 2009-12 and now is a member of the U.S. National Team. Kolojejchick is the only player in school history to earn first-team All-America honors four times and the Tar Heels dedicated a Henry Stadium banner recognizing that feat.

No. 3 UNC 5, No. 19 ODU 1

Scoring: ODU – Megan Byans (Catalina Barahona), 5:20; UNC – Gab Major, 26:22; UNC – Major (Nina Notman), 29:21; UNC – Sam Night (Lauren Moyer), 33:49; UNC – Ashley Hoffman (Major, Julia Young); UNC – Emily Wold, 69:42

Shots: UNC 23 (12/11), ODU 4 (3/1)

Penalty corners: UNC 7 (4/2), ODU 3 (3/0)

Goalkeeper saves: UNC 2 (Shannon Johnson, 70:00 minutes, 1 goal allowed, 2 saves); ODU 9 (Kealsie Robles, 70:00, 5 goals allowed, 9 saves)

Records: UNC 15-2, ODU 9-9

UNC starters: Shannon Johnson, Lauren Moyer, Kristy Bernatchez, Emily Wold, Nina Notman, Ashley Hoffman, Malin Evert, Julia Young, Casey Di Nardo, Eva van't Hoog, Gab Major