Field Hockey Picks Up 6-0 Win At UAlbany

Sunday, October 3

Albany, N.Y.

11:30 AM

North Carolina

(7-4, 1-1ACC)

Albany

(4-7, 1-1AEC)

North Carolina

UAlbany

The Tar Heels bounced back from a loss on Friday to win 6-0 at UAlbany on Sunday.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

October 3, 2021 | Field Hockey

Box Score

ALBANY, N.Y. – The North Carolina field hockey team bounced back from its first shutout loss of the season to earn its first shutout victory, 6-0 at Albany on Sunday afternoon.

The Tar Heels are 7-4 overall after a weekend in New York that also included a 5-0 defeat at Syracuse on Friday. Next up is a two-game homestand, with Duke visiting Karen Shelton Stadium this Friday and Liberty coming in on Sunday (Oct. 8 and 10).

"I'm proud of our team – we showed resilience today and played well as a team," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "What I loved is we defended well – it was nice to get our first shutout, and we did that together. It was a really good bounce-back game for us and hopefully a springboard into next weekend."

Tar Heel junior Paityn Wirth scored what would prove to be the gamewinner just 1:35 into the action on a rainy day at UAlbany's Alumni Turf. Senior Hannah Griggs sent a pass from the right side to the front of the cage and Wirth scored her second goal of the fall.

After carrying that 1-0 advantage into the second quarter, the Tar Heels roared to a 5-0 lead by halftime. Freshmen Kennedy Cliggett and Jasmina Smolenaars each scored goals and senior Erin Matson added two more to give the Tar Heels plenty of breathing room at the break.

"Our offensive output was good, especially in the first half," Shelton said. "We want to score goals and score them early, put pressure on the goalkeeper and make good things happen."

The final Carolina goal came with just under four minutes to play from freshman Lisa Slinkert.

UNC finished with 21 shots on the day to six by the Great Danes. The Tar Heels led 7-5 in penalty corners.

Abigail Taylor and Kit Olmstead each played a half in goal for Carolina, with Olmstead making three fourth-quarter saves to preserve the shutout.

"It was an overall team defensive effort and that's what we're looking for," Shelton said. "We want to be a team that defends from the front and attacks from the back. The better our defense is, the more we have the ball and are able to attack. Kit had three big saves down the stretch and the team was well prepared for what we thought Albany would do."

No. 5 UNC 6, UAlbany 0
Scoring: UNC – Paityn Wirth (Hannah Griggs), 1:35; UNC – Kennedy Cliggett (Hannah Griggs), 16:31; UNC – Erin Matson (Madison Orobono, Eva Smolenaars), 21:12; UNC – Matson, 23:09; UNC – Jasmina Smolenaars, 28:52; UNC – Lisa Slinkert, 56:15
Shots: UNC 21 (3/7/2/9); UAlbany 6 (1/0/1/4)
Penalty corners: UNC 7 (0/2/0/5), UAlbany 5 (1/0/1/3)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 3 (Abigail Taylor, 30:00, 0 goals allowed, 0 saves; Kit Olmsted, 30:00, 0 goals allowed, 3 saves); UAlbany 8 (Hannah Mangan, 30:00, 5 goals allowed, 1 save; Lara Behn, 30:00, 1 goal allowed, 7 saves)
Records: UNC 7-4 (1-1 ACC), UAlbany 4-7 (1-1 AEC)