UNC Opens ACC Play Friday At Wake Forest

Friday, September 8

Winston-Salem, N.C.

6:00 PM

North Carolina

Wake Forest

Eva van't Hoog and the Tar Heels open ACC play Friday at Wake Forest.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

September 8, 2017 | Field Hockey

The Tar Heels and Demon Deacons face off at 6 p.m.

By: UNC Athletic Communications

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The North Carolina field hockey team opens Atlantic Coast Conference play on Friday when it travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., to meet Wake Forest. Game time is 6 p.m. at Kentner Stadium.
The Tar Heels are 3-1 on the season and currently ranked No. 4 nationally. The Demon Deacon are 1-3 and ranked 19th.
On Sunday, UNC travels to Boone, N.C., to take on Appalachian State. The Mountaineers, 1-3 headed into a matchup with Davidson on Friday, are coached by Carolina alum Meghan Dawson, who played for the Tar Heels from 2007-11.

Fast Facts on UNC
2017 record: 3-1 overall (0-0 ACC)
Final 2016 record: 20-6 (3-3 ACC)
NFHCA poll ranking: 4th (Sept. 5 poll)
Head Coach: Karen Shelton (37th season at UNC)
Record at UNC and overall: 631-160-9
Staff: Grant Fulton, Associate Head Coach; Mark Atherton, Assistant Coach
Team Co-captains: Gab Major, Ashley Hoffman
ACC Titles: 19 (1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015)
NCAA Titles: Six (1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2007, 2009)
Conference: Atlantic Coast
Home Stadium: TBA

On the Schedule
Sept. 8: At Wake Forest, 6 p.m. (Kentner Stadium, Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Live Stats
Sept. 10: At Appalachian State, 2 p.m. (Brandon & Erica M. Adcock Field, Boone, N.C.)
Live Stats

Quick Hits
• The Tar Heels' 10 goals this season have come from six different players. Four players – a freshman, a sophomore, a junior and a senior – have two goals each.
• Wake Forest is UNC's fourth ranked opponent in the season's first five games.
• Carolina has given up one goal total over the past three games.
• UNC is No. 4 in this week's NFHCA national coaches' poll, the first of the season. The Tar Heels were No. 1 in the preseason poll.
• UNC will play all six of its home games this fall in Durham, N.C., at Duke's Williams Stadium at Jack Katz Field. The Tar Heels' new on-campus stadium is under construction and is slated to be ready for the 2018 season.

UNC's Statistical Leaders
(Through four games)
Goals: Gab Major 2, Ashley Hoffman 2, Marissa Creatore 2, Meredith Sholder 2
Assists: Gab Major 4, Eva van't Hoog 2
Points: Major 8, Creatore 5, Sholder 5, Hoffman 4

Scouting the opposition
At Wake Forest, Sept. 8: The Demon Deacons are ranked 19th nationally and are 1-3 overall. The team's win came in the season opener at Iowa, in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, where UNC also played. Wake beat the Hawkeyes 3-2, but fell 5-4 to Michigan on the second day of the event.
In its most recent outings, Wake lost to Indiana (1-0) and Penn State (6-0), with both games played in University Park, Pa.
Jule Grashoff leads the team in scoring with three goals this fall. Emily Adamson has two, and the Demon Deacons have one each from Elisha Evans and Anne van Hoof.
At Appalachian State, Sept. 10: On Sunday, the Tar Heels will hit the road again, this time headed for a matchup with Appalachian State, which is coached by UNC alum Meghan Dawson. Dawson is in her third season at ASU.
Before meeting UNC, the Mountaineers take on Davidson on Friday in a home matchup. Heading into the game against the Wildcats, sophomore Ali Williams leads the team with three goals, and senior Taylor Cimbalist has one.
• The Mountaineers are in their first season in the Mid-American Conference after two seasons at an independent.

Last time out
Sept. 3, 2017: No. 1 UNC 3, Penn 1
PHILADELPHIA – North Carolina earned its third road win in a row Sunday, scoring three first-half goals on the way to a 3-1 win at Penn. Playing at the Quakers' Ellen Vagelos Field, with many Tar Heel fans in the stands and downtown Philadelphia as a backdrop, top-ranked Carolina improved to 3-1 on the year. Penn fell to 0-2.
"This was a big travel weekend for us and we're pleased to be headed back to Chapel Hill with two wins," UNC coach Karen Shelton said as the Tar Heels stared the bus ride home Sunday afternoon.
UNC opened the weekend with a 2-0 victory at No. 8 Princeton on Friday then traveled to Philadelphia to play at Penn Sunday for the second year in a row. After a flurry of early opportunities, Carolina got on the board in the 19th minute of play when junior Eva van't Hoog sent a ball through the circle from the left side, and sophomore Marissa Creatore directed it to freshman Meredith Sholder, who tipped it in from the far post.
Just 21 seconds later, UNC scored again. Sophomore Feline Guenther carried the ball into the circle and passed from the top of the arc to Creatore, who got a shot past a Penn defender and goalkeeper Liz Mata to make the score 2-0.
UNC's third goal came in the 32nd minute, from sophomore Megan DuVernois. Junior Malin Evert sent a pass to Creatore at the top of the circle, and Creatore found DuVernois on the right side. DuVernois' first shot went off the right post, but she gathered the rebound and shot again for a 3-0 Tar Heel lead.
That was all the scoring for UNC, which had 16 shots in the game but just three in the second half. "I was a little disappointed with the second half," Shelton said. "We didn't play as well, and credit to Penn for that. They came out and played with a lot of energy and they were able to put some pressure on us at the end."
Penn's goal came on a penalty corner in the 56th minute. Rachel Huang had the score, assisted by Alexa Hoover and Paige Meily.
Mata, the Penn keeper, made eight saves, including one on a Tar Heel penalty stroke in the second half. She left the game with six minutes to play as Penn went with an extra field player to try to close the two-goal deficit.
Penn had four shots, all in the second half. The Tar Heels had 12 corners, six in each half, and the Quakers had four on the day, three of them in the second half.
"I liked our intensity in the first half," Shelton said. "We moved the ball well at times. We're still growing as a team. We didn't handle certain situations well, but this team is really trying hard. We didn't play a full game today, but I love their energy and excitement."

No. 1 UNC 3, Penn 1
Scoring: UNC – Meredith Sholder (Marissa Creatore), 18:11; UNC – Creatore (Feline Guenther, 18:32; UNC – Megan DuVernois, 31:49
Shots: UNC 16 (13/3), Penn 4 (0/4
Penalty Corners: UNC 12 (6/6), Penn 4 (1/3)
Goalkeeper Saves: UNC 1 (Amanda Hendry, 70:00, 1 save, 1 goal allowed); Penn 8 (Liz Mata, 64:02, 8 saves, 3 goals allowed; Team, 5:58, 0 saves, 0 goals allowed)
Records: UNC 3-1, Penn 0-2
UNC starters: Amanda Hendry (GK), Meredith Sholder, Cassie Sumfest, Ashley Hoffman, Feline Guenther, Malin Evert, Morgan Goetz, Eva Smolenaars, Eva van't Hoog, Gab Major, Marissa Creatore
UNC substitutes: Leila Evans, Bryn Boylan, Catherine Hayden, Eef Andriessen, Kathryn Holland, Ali Rushton, Courtnie Williamson, Megan DuVernois, Ellen Payne