Tar Heels Win Big On Senior Day

Sunday, October 30

Chapel Hill, N.C.

1:00 PM

North Carolina

(15-4)

Appalachian State

(1-15)

Appalachian St.

North Carolina

October 30, 2016 | Field Hockey

Box Score

By: UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The fifth-ranked North Carolina field hockey team celebrated Senior Day in grand fashion Sunday, reaching season highs for goals, points and shots in a 9-1 win over Appalachian State on a warm, sunny afternoon at Francis E. Henry Stadium. Senior Lauren Moyer and redshirt freshman Catherine Hayden scored two goals each as UNC improved to 15-4 overall with a victory in the final game of the regular season.

Next up for the Tar Heels is the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, which begins on Thursday in Winston-Salem, N.C.

On Sunday, UNC opened the afternoon with pregame ceremonies honoring seniors Kristy Bernatchez, Emma Bozek, Blissie Du Bose, Shannon Johnson, Lauren Moyer, Sam Night , Caroline Plyler and Julia Young. (Du Bose and Night have eligibility remaining but are seniors academically and will graduate this year.) All eight were in the starting lineup.

Sophomore Eva van't Hoog scored the gamewinner in the 18th minute of play when she carried the ball into the circle from the right and slipped it in to the right corner of the cage for a 1-0 lead. The Tar Heels added two more in the first half, with Hayden scoring on a pass from freshman Eef Andriessen in the 27th minute and sophomore Ashley Hoffman scoring on a penalty corner with 15 seconds to go until halftime. Young and junior Gab Major assisted on the play.

In the second half, the Tar Heels quickly pulled even further ahead. Moyer's first goal came in the 38th minute, on an assist from Major. Hayden then scored her second, assisted by Moyer.

The Mountaineers' goal came in the 50th minute, when Melissa Nobile tipped in a pass from Julia Wenz to get ASU on the board. Just 26 seconds later, the Tar Heels answered, with Andriessen sending an emphatic shot to the boards and past ASU keeper Rachel Gaines, who made 13 saves on the day.

The final two goals came from Night in the 59th minute and from freshman Megan DuVernois, with Hayden on the assist, in the 66th.

The Tar Heels' previous high for goals this fall had been six, and the previous high for points was 17. (UNC totaled 25 points on Sunday.) It marked the second time in the past three games that Carolina has set a new season high for shots. Before UNC totaled 34 on Sunday, the previous high was 27 last Sunday against Liberty.

“I'm excited for our seniors to come out today and play so well and have everybody contribute to a big win for us on a beautiful sunny day here,” UNC coach Karen Shelton said. “I'm really proud of our team. I thought we started off slowly but worked some things out and started to pass the ball around App State's goalkeeper.

“It's also nice to have one of our alums back in town – Meghan Dawson, who is the head coach at App State and is doing a nice job with their program. It was a great day for the Carolina community, all the way around.”

UNC opens ACC Championship play against Louisville, which handed the Tar Heels one of their four losses this season. The matchup with the Cardinals is the opening game of the tournament and is set for 11 a.m. on Thursday at Wake Forest's Kentner Stadium.

“We know we have a tall task with Louisville, but we also have a little bit of a revenge factor – they beat us on their home field and now we have a chance to play them on a neutral site with a lot at stake,” Shelton said. “Our kids will be ready on Thursday.”

No. 5 UNC 9, Appalachian State 1

Scoring: UNC – Eva van't Hoog, 17:34; UNC – Catherine Hayden (Eef Andriessen), 26:57; UNC – Ashley Hoffman (Julia Young, Gab Major), 34:45; UNC – Lauren Moyer (Major), 37:47; UNC – Hayden (Moyer), 38:49; UNC – Moyer (Malin Evert), 47:26; ASU – Melissa Nobile (Julia Wenz), 49:36; UNC – Andriessen, 50:02; UNC – Sam Night, 58:13; UNC – Megan DuVernois (Hayden), 65:14