Sunday, November 8
Chapel Hill
Noon
North Carolina
(10-1)
4
vs
2
Louisville (ACC Championship)
(8-2)
1
2
3
4
F
North Carolina
0
1
2
1
4
Louisville
1
1
0
0
2
UNC's 2020 ACC Championship is the team's fourth in a row and the 23rd in program history.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Title 23! Tar Heels Cap 2020 With Crown
November 8, 2020 | Field Hockey
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – A North Carolina field hockey season during which almost everything felt different ended Sunday in a familiar way, with the Tar Heels celebrating a championship. Second-seeded UNC, playing as the underdog on its home turf at Karen Shelton Stadium, beat top-seeded Louisville 4-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Sunday afternoon. It's Carolina's fourth league crown in a row and 23rd in program history.
Playing from the visiting bench as the lower-seeded team, the Tar Heels were looking to avenge their only loss of the season – the Cardinals won 3-1 on Oct. 2 in Louisville to end UNC's record-breaking winning streak at 47 – as they played for another trophy. UL again had the advantage out of the gate, leading 2-0 early in the second quarter. This time the Tar Heels stormed back for four consecutive goals to set off the season-ending celebration.
(As the ACC is the only conference competing in field hockey this fall, 2020 was a short, conference-only season and UNC finished it 10-1. The NCAA Tournament is set to take place in the spring.)
"Congratulations to Louisville for such a fantastic season," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "They play with such composure and poise and that makes them a very difficult team to play against. They dominated in the first half and we gave up a couple of goals but we didn't crack. It was a tale of two halves – they had the better of the first and I think we had the better of the second.
I'm thrilled that our kids were able to find a way to win.
"Tournament play is not always pretty but you've got to find a way to win and we did that today. There were a lot of unbelievable personal performances but really it was a team effort."
The Cardinals (8-2) jumped on top in the eighth minute as sophomore Katie Schneider directed in a pass from freshman Charlie van Oirschot to make it 1-0. UL took its biggest lead of the game in the 19th minute, when Schneider scored again, deflecting in a pass from Alli Bitting on a penalty corner to made it 2-0 Louisville.
UNC answered just under four minutes later, on the team's first penalty corner of the day. Junior Erin Matson's shot, assisted by junior Abby Pitcairn on the insert and sophomore Romea Riccardo on the stick stop, went off a defender's stick and into the cage, cutting the Tar Heel deficit to one.
UL carried the 2-1 lead to the middle of the third quarter. In the 38th minute, Riccardo carried the ball to the right baseline then sent a pass to the front of the cage, where senior Bryn Boylan blasted a shot between the legs of the Cardinal goalkeeper, Hollyn Barr, to tie the game.
UNC grabbed the lead for good just before the end of the third quarter when junior Hannah Griggs sent a pass from the left baseline to the front of the cage and sophomore Madison Orobono deflected it in as she fell to the turf to give Carolina a 3-2 advantage.
Louisville pulled Barr late in the game in favor of another field player and UNC's final goal came with 1:01 to play and no keeper in the cage. On a penalty corner – just the third of the game for UNC – UL's Julie Kouijzer made a defensive save on the first Tar Heel shot, but Matson grabbed the rebound and sent it back in for the 4-2 final margin. Kouijzer, a sophomore, finished the day with two defensive saves for the Cardinals.
Louisville led 16-10 in shots to outshoot the Tar Heels for the second time this season. The Cardinals also led in corners, 8-3, again for the second time. UNC's total was the second-lowest of the season, with the only lower total its two in the loss at UL.
Matson was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team for the third year in a row and was honored as the tournament MVP. Boylan, senior goalkeeper Amanda Hendry and sophomore Paityn Wirth joined her on the All-Tournament team.
UNC 4, Louisville 2
Scoring: UL – Katie Schneider (Charlie van Oirschot), 7:19; UL – Schneider (Alli Bitting), 18:53; UNC – Erin Matson (Romea Riccardo, Abby Pitcairn), 22:45; UNC – Bryn Boylan (Riccardo), 38:50; UNC – Madison Orobono (Hannah Griggs), 43:20; UNC – Matson, 58:59
Shots: UNC 10 (1/2/5/2), UL 16 (3/3/6/4)
Penalty corners: UNC 3 (0/2/0/1), UL (1/1/4/2)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 4 (Amanda Hendry, 60:00, 4 saves, 2 goals allowed); UL 2 (Hollyn Barr, 58:12, 2 saves, 3 goals allowed)
Defensive saves: UL 2 (Julie Kouijzer 2)
Records: UNC 10-1, UL 8-2
Playing from the visiting bench as the lower-seeded team, the Tar Heels were looking to avenge their only loss of the season – the Cardinals won 3-1 on Oct. 2 in Louisville to end UNC's record-breaking winning streak at 47 – as they played for another trophy. UL again had the advantage out of the gate, leading 2-0 early in the second quarter. This time the Tar Heels stormed back for four consecutive goals to set off the season-ending celebration.
(As the ACC is the only conference competing in field hockey this fall, 2020 was a short, conference-only season and UNC finished it 10-1. The NCAA Tournament is set to take place in the spring.)
"Congratulations to Louisville for such a fantastic season," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "They play with such composure and poise and that makes them a very difficult team to play against. They dominated in the first half and we gave up a couple of goals but we didn't crack. It was a tale of two halves – they had the better of the first and I think we had the better of the second.
I'm thrilled that our kids were able to find a way to win.
"Tournament play is not always pretty but you've got to find a way to win and we did that today. There were a lot of unbelievable personal performances but really it was a team effort."
ACC CHAMPS!!! 🏆
Check out the highlights from our comeback win in the title game right here: ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/R2ptBikagn— UNC Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) November 8, 2020
The Cardinals (8-2) jumped on top in the eighth minute as sophomore Katie Schneider directed in a pass from freshman Charlie van Oirschot to make it 1-0. UL took its biggest lead of the game in the 19th minute, when Schneider scored again, deflecting in a pass from Alli Bitting on a penalty corner to made it 2-0 Louisville.
UNC answered just under four minutes later, on the team's first penalty corner of the day. Junior Erin Matson's shot, assisted by junior Abby Pitcairn on the insert and sophomore Romea Riccardo on the stick stop, went off a defender's stick and into the cage, cutting the Tar Heel deficit to one.
UL carried the 2-1 lead to the middle of the third quarter. In the 38th minute, Riccardo carried the ball to the right baseline then sent a pass to the front of the cage, where senior Bryn Boylan blasted a shot between the legs of the Cardinal goalkeeper, Hollyn Barr, to tie the game.
UNC grabbed the lead for good just before the end of the third quarter when junior Hannah Griggs sent a pass from the left baseline to the front of the cage and sophomore Madison Orobono deflected it in as she fell to the turf to give Carolina a 3-2 advantage.
Louisville pulled Barr late in the game in favor of another field player and UNC's final goal came with 1:01 to play and no keeper in the cage. On a penalty corner – just the third of the game for UNC – UL's Julie Kouijzer made a defensive save on the first Tar Heel shot, but Matson grabbed the rebound and sent it back in for the 4-2 final margin. Kouijzer, a sophomore, finished the day with two defensive saves for the Cardinals.
Louisville led 16-10 in shots to outshoot the Tar Heels for the second time this season. The Cardinals also led in corners, 8-3, again for the second time. UNC's total was the second-lowest of the season, with the only lower total its two in the loss at UL.
Matson was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team for the third year in a row and was honored as the tournament MVP. Boylan, senior goalkeeper Amanda Hendry and sophomore Paityn Wirth joined her on the All-Tournament team.
It's a #GDTBATH 🏑🏆#GoHeels | #ACCFH pic.twitter.com/rw8va0JHar— UNC Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) November 8, 2020
UNC 4, Louisville 2
Scoring: UL – Katie Schneider (Charlie van Oirschot), 7:19; UL – Schneider (Alli Bitting), 18:53; UNC – Erin Matson (Romea Riccardo, Abby Pitcairn), 22:45; UNC – Bryn Boylan (Riccardo), 38:50; UNC – Madison Orobono (Hannah Griggs), 43:20; UNC – Matson, 58:59
Shots: UNC 10 (1/2/5/2), UL 16 (3/3/6/4)
Penalty corners: UNC 3 (0/2/0/1), UL (1/1/4/2)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 4 (Amanda Hendry, 60:00, 4 saves, 2 goals allowed); UL 2 (Hollyn Barr, 58:12, 2 saves, 3 goals allowed)
Defensive saves: UL 2 (Julie Kouijzer 2)
Records: UNC 10-1, UL 8-2
Team Stats
NC
LOU
Goals
4
2
Shots
10
16
Shots on Goal
8
6
Saves
4
4
Corners
3
8
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
0
0
Scoring Plays
Katie Schneider (3)
Assisted By: Charlie van Oirschot
Shot from left baseline
7:19
Katie Schneider (4)
Assisted By: Alli Bitting
Penalty corner, deflection from left
18:53
Erin Matson (12)
Assisted By: Romea Riccardo , Abby Pitcairn
Penalty corner
22:45
Bryn Boylan (3)
Assisted By: Romea Riccardo
Pass from right side, shot at front of c
38:50
Madison Orobono (2)
Assisted By: Hannah Griggs
Deflection from front of cage
43:20
Erin Matson (13)
Off rebound after defensive save
58:59
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
2
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
2
Players Mentioned
Forward/Midfielder
/ Field Hockey
Forward
/ Field Hockey
Goalkeeper
/ Field HockeyForward
/ Field HockeyBack
/ Field Hockey
Midfielder
/ Field HockeyBack
/ Field Hockey
Midfielder
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