Tar Heels Roll to 7-1 Win At Drexel

Sunday, September 12

Philadelphia, Pa.

Noon

North Carolina

(3-3)

Drexel

(1-5)

Drexel

Eva Smolenaars and the Tar Heels won 7-1 on Sunday at Drexel (Photo: Drexel Athletics)

September 12, 2021 | Field Hockey

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Persistence paid off for the North Carolina field hockey team on Sunday as the Tar Heels failed to score on a flurry of early shots but eventually rolled to a 7-1 win over host Drexel at Buckley Field.

Senior Cassie Sumfest notched her first career hat trick and senior Erin Matson registered her second two-goal game of the weekend as the fourth-ranked Tar Heels improved to 3-3 on the season.

Playing the sixth of six road games to open the fall, the Tar Heels spent the entire first quarter knocking on the door, with 11 shots (10 of them on goal) but no score as the Drexel keeper, Megan Hadfield, made 10 saves. "Give her credit – she did a nice job and we had to find a way to get around her," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "But I felt good about the way we were playing, moving the ball and being patient."

Check out all 🏑🏑🏑🏑🏑🏑🏑 goals from today's 7-1 win at Drexel #GoHeels pic.twitter.com/0WTWSPU3yC
— UNC Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) September 12, 2021

Patience and the ability to adjust paid off quickly in the second quarter as UNC senior Hannah Griggs broke the scoreless tie with what would prove to be the gamewinner 14 seconds into the period. The UNC defense forced a turnover and senior Meredith Sholder sent a long pass bouncing into the circle, where Griggs corralled it and swatted Carolina's 12^th shot of the day past the keeper for a 1-0 lead.

Late in the quarter the Tar Heels again used defense to create offense, generating a scoring chance that drew a stroke opportunity, which Matson sent into the bottom right corner of the cage for a 2-0 lead at halftime.

Early in the third quarter the Tar Heels scored on a penalty corner, with Sumfest's drag flick putting UNC up 3-0, assisted by Abby Pitcairn and Romea Riccardo.

Less than two minutes later, Sholder sent a ball into the circle to Jasmina Smolenaars, who fired a shot across the cage to Matson, who tapped it in behind the keeper for a 4-0 lead.

On a penalty corner in the 43^rd minute of play, Sumfest flicked a shot into the top of the cage, assisted by Eva Smolenaars and Madison Orobono, to put UNC up 5-0.

After Drexel got on the board with a goal by Amber Brouwer in the 48^th minute of play, the Tar Heels came back with two more. Sumfest nailed a stroke with six minutes to play to put the Tar Heels up 6-1.

The final goal came from Pitcairn 39 seconds later. From just inside the arc, she sent a shot into the left corner of the cage for the third goal of her career and the Tar Heels' seventh of the day.

"I felt like this was a good game for us," Shelton said. "We're still working on developing our habits and we've got a ways to go, but we continue to make progress."

UNC finished with a season-high 33 shots, including 21 in the first half, while limiting Drexel to just three shots, all in the fourth quarter. The Tar Heels led 9-1 in penalty corners.

Dragons' goalkeeper Megan Hadfield made a career-high 16 saves, including 10 to keep UNC off the board in the first period. Freshman Abigail Taylor started in goal for UNC but didn't face a shot through three quarters. Sophomore Kit Olmsted played the final 15 minutes, making one save and allowing one goal.

Buckley Field had a home-away-from-home feeling for the Tar Heels, with many fans, families and alums there to support Carolina. "The fans were fantastic today and it was great to see so many Tar Heels come out and support us," Shelton said. "It was a great atmosphere."

Next up for the Tar Heels is their first home game of the season. They host Miami (Ohio) next Sunday at 1 at Karen Shelton Stadium.

No. 4 UNC 7, Drexel 1
Scoring: UNC – Hannah Griggs, 15:46; UNC – Erin Matson (penalty stroke), 28:35; UNC – Cassie Sumfest (Romea Riccardo, Abby Pitcairn), 32:38; UNC – Matson (Jasmina Smolenaars), 34:04; UNC – Sumfest (Madison Orobono, Eva Smolenaars), 42:10; Drexel – Amber Brouwer, 47:33; UNC – Sumfest (penalty stroke), 54:00; UNC – Pitcairn, 54:39
Shots: UNC 33 (11/10/6/6), Drexel 3 (0/0/0/3)
Penalty corners: UNC 9 (4/1/3/1), Drexel 1 (0/0/0/1)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 1 (Abigail Taylor, 45:00, 0 goals allowed, 0 saves; Kit Olmsted, 15:00, 15:00, 1 goal allowed, 1 save); Drexel 16 (Megan Hadfield, 56:21, 7 goals allowed, 16 saves; Melanie Kaminsky, 3:39, 0 goals allowed, 1 save)
Defensive saves: Drexel 1 (Isabel Jacobs)
Records: UNC 3-3, Drexel 1-5