University of North Carolina Athletics
Wold, Young To Captain 2015 Tar Heels
August 28, 2015 | Field Hockey
Heading into the season opener at Michigan on Saturday, UNC field hockey coach Karen Shelton has announced that senior midfielder Emily Wold will serve as team captain for 2015 with junior back Julia Young as vice captain. Shelton also will look to seniors Casey Di Nardo and Nina Notman for leadership on her young team, which includes 11 true freshmen and five redshirt freshmen.
“Emily Wold is a coach's dream in terms of how hard she works,” Shelton said. “What she's really grown into this year is her vocal leadership. She's always led by example, she's always been the one who pushes herself above and beyond what everybody else does, but she's been very quiet on the field. Now she's grown into having a confidence and maturity about herself and her knowledge of the game that she's just feels freer to speak up. That leadership is vitally important.
“At the defensive end of the field, Julia Young, who is one of our Under-21 National Team players, is also growing and maturing into a great leadership role. To have a vocal leader in the back, and to have it be somebody as calm and mature as Julia back there, is really important for our group.
“And I also want to credit seniors Nina Notman and Casey Di Nardo, both doing a fantastic job of being solid leaders and playing with intensity all the time, helping the younger players.
“The growth of those four players alone this year is remarkable and I think that's going to lead to some successful outcomes for us.”
The Tar Heels take on the host Wolverines Saturday at 2 p.m. then face Iowa Sunday at 11:30 a.m. UNC is ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll while Michigan is No. 14 and Iowa is No. 17. The other ACC team in the event, Wake Forest, is No. 11. The Demon Deacons play Iowa on Saturday and Michigan on Sunday.
