UNC Falls In ACC Matchup At Syracuse

Friday, October 1

Syracuse, N.Y.

4:00 PM

North Carolina

(6-4, 1-1ACC)

Syracuse

(7-2, 2-0ACC)

North Carolina

Syracuse

After Friday's loss, Jasmina Smolenaars and the Tar Heels will take on Albany on Sunday.

Photo by: Syracuse Athletic Communications

October 1, 2021 | Field Hockey

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – No. 11 Syracuse led 3-0 at halftime and rolled on to a 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference field hockey win Friday afternoon, handing No. 5 North Carolina its first ACC loss of the season. The Tar Heels are now 6-4 overall and 1-1 in ACC play, while the Orange improved to 7-2 overall and a perfect 2-0 in conference play.

"Congratulations to Syracuse," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "They played as well today as I've seen them play in years. Our slow start gave them a three-goal cushion and we spent the rest of the game chasing – whatever we tried, they seemed to have an answer. We'll learn from this game and regroup for Sunday."

The Tar Heels stay in New York for another road game, this one a non-conference matchup with Albany. That game is on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

The shutout loss was Carolina's first since falling 3-0 at Duke during the 2016 season. The last time the Tar Heels lost a game by five or more goals was during the 2008 season, when Maryland won 7-0 in a game played in College Park, Md.

Friday, in UNC's first ACC road game of the season, the Orange jumped out to a fast start. The home team scored in the opening minutes, had the goal overturned after a review, but then put in two within a three-minute span late in the first quarter. The first goal was by Pleun Lammers, who deflected a long pass from Quirine Comans. The second was Hailey Bitters, who dove to deflect a pass up and into the cage.

The Orange added one more in the second quarter, scoring on a penalty corner to take a 3-0 lead into halftime. The Tar Heels had seven shots and five penalty corners in the second period but couldn't get a ball into the cage.

UNC goalkeeper Abigail Taylor made four of her five saves on the day in the third quarter, when the Orange outshot UNC 5-2 but neither team scored.

Syracuse added two more in the fourth quarter, on a deflection by Claire Cooke and a reverse by Charlotte de Vries to go up 5-0 with nearly eight minutes remaining.

SU finished with 12 shots to UNC's 11, the first time this season that an opponent has outshot the Tar Heels. Carolina led 8-6 on corners but for the second game in a row didn't score on one.

The Tar Heels will return to Syracuse in November for the 2021 ACC Tournament. In the meantime they'll focus on Albany on Sunday then return to Chapel Hill for two home games as Duke visits on Oct. 8 and Liberty on Oct. 10.

No. 11 Syracuse 5, No. 5 UNC 0
Scoring: SU – Pleun Lammers (Quirine Comans), 8:52; SU – Hailey Bitters (Comans), 11:24; SU – Carolin Hoffmann (Comans, Lammers), 17:57; SU – Claire Cook (Laura Graziosi), 49:26; SU – Charlotte de Vries, 52:05
Shots: UNC 11 (1/7/2/1), SU 12 (2/2/5/3)
Penalty corners: UNC 8 (1/5/0/2), SU (0/3/3/0)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 5 (Abigail Taylor, 60:00, 5 saves, 5 goals allowed), SU 1 (Brooke Borzymowski, 60:00, 1 save, 0 goals allowed)
Records: UNC 6-4 (1-1 ACC), Syracuse 7-2 (2-0 ACC)