UNC Falls at No. 3 Iowa In Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Sunday, August 29

Iowa City, Iowa

Noon (ET)

North Carolina

(0-2)

Iowa

(2-0)

North Carolina

Iowa

UNC got off eight shots in the second quarter, including this scoring strike by Erin Matson.

Photo by: Brian Ray/University of Iowa

August 29, 2021 | Field Hockey

Box Score

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The North Carolina field hockey team suffered its second set-back of the weekend Sunday, falling 3-1 to third-ranked Iowa at the Hawkeyes' Grant Field in Big Ten/ACC Challenge play. Coupled with the loss to second-ranked Michigan on Friday, the top-ranked Tar Heels fell to 0-2.

"We had our chances in both games," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "It's a tough task to start the season on the road against two teams in the top three, and we played them toe-to toe. We showed a little bit of our youth and inexperience and I'm disappointed that we lost, but I think we're making progress. From Game 1 to Game 2 we got better and that's what we want. It's about the journey, and we will grow."

Next up for Carolina is a trip to Princeton, N.J., for the ACC/Ivy Conference Crossover. The Tar Heels take on host Princeton on Friday and Penn next Sunday (Sept. 5).

Following a 3-2 loss to second-ranked Michigan on Friday in Iowa City, the Tar Heels returned to the turf on Sunday morning looking for their first win. Iowa dominated offensively in the first quarter, outshooting the Tar Heels 6-0 including a goal by Maddy Murphy in the 16^th minute of play.

After that, Carolina got rolling, leading 8-1 in shots in the second quarter and 15-11 for the game. UNC's goal came in the 25^th minute, courtesy of senior forward Erin Matson. On a penalty corner – one of three the Tar Heels drew in the second quarter after having none in the first – senior Cassie Sumfest's initial shot was blocked by an Iowa defender. The ball bounced out to senior Meredith Sholder, who touched it to Matson for the score.

The game was tied 1-1 at the half, but Iowa went ahead again in the 43^rd minute on a goal by Meghan Conroy and held a 2-1 advantage heading into the final 15 minutes.

For the second game in a row, the Tar Heels pulled starting keeper Abigail Taylor for an extra field player down the stretch. Like Michigan had on Friday, Iowa took advantage and got through the defense for an open-cage goal, this one by Ellie Holley in the 52^nd minute of play to make the final score 3-1.

In addition to the 15-11 advantage in shots, UNC finished with a 6-4 edge in penalty corners.

"Credit Iowa – their goalie defended great," Shelton said. "They made saves and we had trouble scoring. We had our chances today, just like we had had our chances on Friday. We had slow starts both games and then adjusted well, but we weren't ever able to gain the advantage and we spent the whole game playing from behind. I think we played with poise but what we didn't play with was consistency. We had really good patches of play, but we were up and down."

The weekend's games were a rematch of the 2020 final four, in which the Tar Heels beat Iowa in the semifinals and Michigan in the championship game back in May.

Carolina dropped back-to-back games in a season for the first time since 2013 and opened 0-2 for the first time since 1992, but as Shelton says, "nobody in our program is panicking."

"Everyone is trying hard and our attitude is outstanding, but nobody likes losing," she said. "We're going to get back to Chapel Hill, keep working hard and get ready to face Princeton on Friday."

No. 3 Iowa 3, No. 1 UNC 1
Scoring: Iowa – Maddy Murphy (Ellie Holley), 15:30; UNC – Erin Matson (Meredith Sholder), 24:40; Iowa – Meghan Conroy (Holley), 42:36; Iowa – Holley, 51:24
Shots: UNC 15 (0/8/4/3), Iowa 11 (6/1/1/3)
Penalty Corners: UNC 6 (0/3/1/2), Iowa 4 (3/0/0/1)
Goalkeeper Saves: UNC 3 (Abigail Taylor, 48:34, 2 goals allowed, 3 saves; Team, 11:26, 1 goa allowed); Iowa 9 (Grace McGuire, 60:00, 1 goal allowed, 9 saves)
Records: UNC 0-2, Iowa 2-0