Tar Heels Earn First Win In New Home

Saturday, August 25

Chapel Hill

11:30 AM

North Carolina

(1-0)

Michigan

(0-1)

Michigan

North Carolina

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

August 25, 2018 | Field Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery Video Highlights

By: UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The North Carolina field hockey team inaugurated its new home on Saturday with a 5-1 win over No. 5 Michigan in ACC-Big Ten Challenge action. Under sunny skies and with a crowd of more than 900 – including many program alums – in the Carolina blue seats and scattered around the cozy facility, the second-ranked Tar Heels got goals from four different players in the victory to open Carolina Field Hockey Stadium.

"It's a historic day for Carolina field hockey and the University of North Carolina," said UNC coach Karen Shelton, who kicked off her 38^th season as the Tar Heels' coach with the win. "I'm really pleased with the turnout that we had and all the support from our fans, the Field Hockey Band, Carolina Fever and all of our alums that have come back to help us through some opening day jitters that we had.

"We have a lot of work to do, but we're thrilled to win the first one in such an amazing environment."

UNC returns to action on Sunday, taking on No. 20 Iowa at 2 p.m. on the second day of ACC-Big Ten. The Hawkeyes also won on Saturday, beating No. 14 Wake Forest 2-1. In the first game of Sunday's double-header, Michigan takes on Wake Forest at 11:30 a.m.

Saturday's game was the first for UNC in Chapel Hill since the end of the 2016 season. The Tar Heels played and practiced at Duke's facility in Durham last season while their new on-campus facility was under construction. Back on campus and practicing in their new home since the start of the preseason, the team could hardly wait to play on Saturday.

Michigan is the traditional season-opening matchup for UNC and the Wolverines had won the past two meetings, handing the Tar Heels season-opening losses in 2016 and 2017. And for a third time in a row, the Wolverines got off to a fast start, scoring the first goal on UNC's new turf, in the fifth minute of play when Halle O'Neill tipped in a ball from Fay Keijer to give UM a 1-0 lead.

Carolina answered just over two minutes later on the team's first penalty corner of the season. Freshman Erin Matson inserted the ball to junior Yentl Leemans, who stopped it for a shot by senior Ashley Hoffman. Hoffman's goal evened the game at 1-1 and the Tar Heels never trailed again. The assists were the first career points for Matson and Leemans.

In the 29th minute, UNC was awarded a penalty stroke and junior Megan DuVernois sent her shot into the upper left corner of the cage to give Carolina a 2-1 lead heading into the half.

The Tar Heels broke open the game in the second half with three goals in a span of just over 15 minutes. In the 43^rd minute, Matson scored her first career goal. Senior Eva van't Hoog crossed the ball and Matson tipped it in front of the cage to make the score 3-1.

Two minutes later, senior Malin Evert dribbled into the circle and sent a hard shot from the top left into the right side of the cage to make it 4-1.

UNC's final goal looked just like the first: a penalty corner score by Hoffman, assisted by Matson and Leemans.

"I thought we started a little slow and we hated that we gave up the first goal to Michigan – we wanted to score the first one," Shelton said. "But at the end of the day it's the final score that counts and I thought we settled in and played little bit better in the second half."

The Tar Heels finished with 26 shots and distributed them fairly evenly between halves, with 14 coming before halftime. Michigan had seven, six of those in the first half.

Sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Hendry started and played the first 65 minutes for UNC, allowing a goal and making two saves. Junior Alex Halpin played the final five minutes.

The game marked the first UNC appearances for freshmen Matson, Abby Pitcairn and Hannah Griggs; redshirt freshman Julia Herrington and junior transfer Leemans. Twenty-three Tar Heels saw action in the win.

No. 2 UNC 5, No. 5 Michigan 1
Scoring: UM – Halle O'Neill (Fay Keijer), 4:16; UNC – Ashley Hoffman (Erin Matson, Yentl Leemans), 6:28; UNC – Megan DuVernois (penalty stroke); UNC – Erin Matson (Eva van't Hoog), 42:05; UNC – Malin Evert, 44:05; UNC – Hoffman (Matson, Leemans)
Shots: UNC 26 (14/12), UM 7 (6/1)
Penalty corners: UNC 11 (4/7), UM 5 (3/2)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 2 (Amanda Hendry, 65:08, 1 goal allowed, 2 saves; Alex Halpin, 4:52, 0 goals allowed, 0 saves); UM 7 (Anna Spieker, 56:54, 5 goals allowed, 5 saves; Sidonie LaPlante, 13:06, 0 goals allowed, 2 saves)
Records: UNC 1-0, UM 0-1

UNC starters: Amanda Hendry, Erin Matson, Catherine Hayden, Cassie Sumfest, Ashley Hoffman, Feline Guenther, Morgan Goetz, Yentl Leemans, Eva van't Hoog, Megan DuVernois, Marissa Creatore
UNC substitutes: Meredith Sholder, Hannah Griggs, Julia Herrington, Leila Evans, Bryn Boylan, Malin Evert, Abby Pitcairn, Ali Rushton, Eva Smolenaars, Courtnie Williamson, Ellen Payne, Alex Halpin