University of North Carolina Athletics
Sunday, October 10
Chapel Hill
3 PM
North Carolina
(8-5)
0
vs
4
Liberty
(10-2)
1
2
3
4
F
Liberty
0
1
1
2
4
North Carolina
0
0
0
0
0
Meredith Sholder and the Tar Heels return to action on Friday at Wake Forest.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Tar Heels Fall To Liberty, 4-0
October 10, 2021 | Field Hockey
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In a top-10 field hockey battle Sunday at Karen Shelton Stadium, 10th-ranked Liberty shut out host North Carolina 4-0, dealing the Tar Heels their first ever loss at their current home. UNC had won 41 consecutive games on its home turf since moving into Shelton Stadium prior to the 2018 season and had won 62 in a row in Chapel Hill.
Liberty improved to 10-2 overall while the ninth-ranked Tar Heels fell to 8-5.
"Congratulations to Liberty," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "They played really well. They were tough and enthusiastic and aggressive and fast. They're hard workers and I admire the way they play. They earned the victory today."
After a scoreless first quarter, the Flames got on the board in the second quarter with the only goal they'd need. In the 22nd minute, senior Jill Bolton scored on a pass from Reagan Underwood to give Liberty a 1-0 lead the team would carry into halftime.
The visitors added another on a penalty corner just 1:50 into the third quarter. Daniella Rhodes had the shot, with assists to Kendra Jones on the stop and Bethany Dykema on the insert.
The Flames added two more in the fourth quarter. On a penalty corner in the 49th minute, Dykema redirected a ball from Jodie Conolly to make it 3-0. Liberty scored on two if its thee corners on the day.
The final goal came in the 55th minute, when Bolton blasted in a shot from the top of the circle to become Liberty's all-time goals leader with 56.
UNC had its opportunities, with 19 shots on the day, 11 of them in the first half. In addition to leading 19-10 in shots, the Tar Heels held a 9-3 advantage in penalty corners.
"We put pressure on their goal, we got corners, we got shots, and at times I thought we controlled the ball really, really well," Shelton said. "But we just couldn't buy a goal today and that credit goes not only to their goalkeeper but their defense. They dove, they slid, they were very intense and determined to keep us out of the goal. Hats off to Liberty for a great game.
"I'm disappointed, but when the other team plays as well as they did today, you've just got to say congratulations."
Liberty keeper Azul Iritxity Irigoyen made six saves and two Flames – Conolly and Bolton – made defensive saves to keep the Tar Heels out of the cage. It was UNC's second shutout of the season, following a 5-0 loss at Syracuse on Oct. 1. Prior to that defeat, the Tar Heels hadn't been shut out since the 2016 season.
Before Sunday, UNC's last loss in Chapel Hill was on Oct. 3, 2014 to Virginia (2-1). After that, the Tar Heels won 21 in a row at Francis E. Henry Stadium, their former home. UNC played "home" games at Duke in 2017 while Shelton Stadium was under construction, and they fell twice that season in games that were technically Carolina home games. They then began play at Shelton Stadium and had won 41 in a row before falling Sunday.
The Tar Heels return to action on Friday with an Atlantic Coast Conference road game at Wake Forest. Game time is 5 p.m. and the action will be broadcast on the ACC Network. After that, Carolina is back in Chapel Hill for its one remaining home game, Senior Day on Oct. 22.
"The season is not over and we've got a lot of work to do," Shelton said. "As far as losing on this field – all good things must come to an end. We've had a really great run and we'll just start another run. That's our goal."
No. 10 Liberty 4, No. 9 UNC 0
Scoring: LU – Jill Bolton (Reagan Underwood), 21:13; LU – Daniella Rhodes (Kendra Jones, Bethany Dykema), 31:50; LU – Dykema (Jodie Conolly), 48:36; LU – Bolton, 54:26
Shots: UNC 19 (6/5/5/3), LU 10 (1/2/4/3)
Penalty corners: UNC 9 (3/4/2/0), LU 3 (0/1/1/1)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 2 (Abigail Taylor, 60:00, 4 goals allowed, 2 saves); LU 6 (Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, 60:00, 0 goals allowed, 6 saves)
Defensive saves: LU 2 (Jodie Conolly, Jill Bolton)
Records: UNC 8-5, Liberty 10-2
Liberty improved to 10-2 overall while the ninth-ranked Tar Heels fell to 8-5.
"Congratulations to Liberty," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "They played really well. They were tough and enthusiastic and aggressive and fast. They're hard workers and I admire the way they play. They earned the victory today."
After a scoreless first quarter, the Flames got on the board in the second quarter with the only goal they'd need. In the 22nd minute, senior Jill Bolton scored on a pass from Reagan Underwood to give Liberty a 1-0 lead the team would carry into halftime.
The visitors added another on a penalty corner just 1:50 into the third quarter. Daniella Rhodes had the shot, with assists to Kendra Jones on the stop and Bethany Dykema on the insert.
The Flames added two more in the fourth quarter. On a penalty corner in the 49th minute, Dykema redirected a ball from Jodie Conolly to make it 3-0. Liberty scored on two if its thee corners on the day.
The final goal came in the 55th minute, when Bolton blasted in a shot from the top of the circle to become Liberty's all-time goals leader with 56.
UNC had its opportunities, with 19 shots on the day, 11 of them in the first half. In addition to leading 19-10 in shots, the Tar Heels held a 9-3 advantage in penalty corners.
"We put pressure on their goal, we got corners, we got shots, and at times I thought we controlled the ball really, really well," Shelton said. "But we just couldn't buy a goal today and that credit goes not only to their goalkeeper but their defense. They dove, they slid, they were very intense and determined to keep us out of the goal. Hats off to Liberty for a great game.
"I'm disappointed, but when the other team plays as well as they did today, you've just got to say congratulations."
Liberty keeper Azul Iritxity Irigoyen made six saves and two Flames – Conolly and Bolton – made defensive saves to keep the Tar Heels out of the cage. It was UNC's second shutout of the season, following a 5-0 loss at Syracuse on Oct. 1. Prior to that defeat, the Tar Heels hadn't been shut out since the 2016 season.
Before Sunday, UNC's last loss in Chapel Hill was on Oct. 3, 2014 to Virginia (2-1). After that, the Tar Heels won 21 in a row at Francis E. Henry Stadium, their former home. UNC played "home" games at Duke in 2017 while Shelton Stadium was under construction, and they fell twice that season in games that were technically Carolina home games. They then began play at Shelton Stadium and had won 41 in a row before falling Sunday.
The Tar Heels return to action on Friday with an Atlantic Coast Conference road game at Wake Forest. Game time is 5 p.m. and the action will be broadcast on the ACC Network. After that, Carolina is back in Chapel Hill for its one remaining home game, Senior Day on Oct. 22.
"The season is not over and we've got a lot of work to do," Shelton said. "As far as losing on this field – all good things must come to an end. We've had a really great run and we'll just start another run. That's our goal."
No. 10 Liberty 4, No. 9 UNC 0
Scoring: LU – Jill Bolton (Reagan Underwood), 21:13; LU – Daniella Rhodes (Kendra Jones, Bethany Dykema), 31:50; LU – Dykema (Jodie Conolly), 48:36; LU – Bolton, 54:26
Shots: UNC 19 (6/5/5/3), LU 10 (1/2/4/3)
Penalty corners: UNC 9 (3/4/2/0), LU 3 (0/1/1/1)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 2 (Abigail Taylor, 60:00, 4 goals allowed, 2 saves); LU 6 (Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, 60:00, 0 goals allowed, 6 saves)
Defensive saves: LU 2 (Jodie Conolly, Jill Bolton)
Records: UNC 8-5, Liberty 10-2
Team Stats
LIBERTY
NC
Goals
4
0
Shots
10
19
Shots on Goal
6
8
Saves
8
2
Corners
3
9
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
0
0
Scoring Plays
BOLTON, Jill (13)
Assisted By: UNDERWOOD, Reagan
Bounced in from right side
21:13
RHODES, Daniella (10)
Assisted By: JONES, Kendra , DYKEMA, Bethany
Penalty corner
31:50
DYKEMA, Bethany (4)
Assisted By: CONOLLY, Jodie
Penalty corner
48:36
BOLTON, Jill (14)
Hard shot from mid-circle, got past keep
54:26
Game Leaders
Shots
4
SOG
3
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
Goalkeeper
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