Wednesday, November 2
Durham, N.C.
1 PM
North Carolina
(16-0, 6-0)
2
vs
1
Syracuse (ACC Semifinals)
(15-5, 3-3)
1
2
3
4
F
Syracuse
0
0
0
1
1
North Carolina
0
0
1
1
2
The Tar Heels beat Syracuse 2-1 on Wednesday to earn a spot in the ACC Championship Game.
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Tar Heels Earn Spot In ACC Field Hockey Title Game
November 2, 2022 | Field Hockey
DURHAM, N.C. – The highest scoring field hockey teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference waged a defensive battle on Wednesday, with top-ranked and top-seeded North Carolina beating Syracuse 2-1 in the ACC Tournament semifinals to earn a spot in Friday's championship game.
"At this point in time, it doesn't matter what the game looks like – it's survive and advance," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "We wanted to get to the final and we found a way to get there."
The Tar Heels (16-0) will take on Virginia in a quest for their sixth consecutive title and 25th overall. UNC is in the title game for the eighth year in a row and 29th time overall, out of 40 possible opportunities.
On a sunny afternoon at Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium, UNC played through the first two quarters without a goal for just the third time this season and the first since a 2-0 win over Wake Forest on Sept. 23. Syracuse also hadn't scored by halftime, with much of the credit going to two early saves by Tar Heel defenders. Just two minutes into the day's action, the Orange got off a pair of shots, with UNC goalkeeper Kylie Walbert making a save on the first and freshman midfielder Sietske Brüning knocking the second Syracuse shot out of the air at the goal line to keep her team from falling behind early.
After that, the Orange didn't get off another shot until the fourth quarter. The Tar Heels came up with seven shots in the first half but couldn't drive one home.
Carolina saw its fortunes change early in the third quarter when the Tar Heels were awarded a penalty stroke. Senior Erin Matson delivered – she's now 4-for-4 on strokes this season and has, according to her coach, "nerves of steel" – and UNC moved ahead for good.
UNC added another goal 54 seconds into the fourth quarter. On the team's sixth and final penalty corner of the day, Brüning took the initial shot and freshman Ryleigh Heck deflected it in for her 14th goal of the year and a 2-0 lead. "The corner goal was a set piece, something we've been working on, and it was executed brilliantly," Shelton said. "That's what you need to do in games like this."
Syracuse scored in the 52nd minute of play, with Joy Haarman batting in a cross from Charlotte de Vries for the goal. The Orange hadn't had a single shot since the two in the opening minutes but managed four in the fourth quarter to finish with six on the day. SU came into the game averaging 16.44 shots per game, second in the ACC to UNC's 17.33 per game.
The Tar Heels also were below their season average, finishing with 13 on the day, and they scored less than half their nation-best average of 4.27 goals per game.
"I think it's exactly what we needed at this moment in time, to play somebody hard that competed for every ball, that stressed us to the limit," Shelton said. "That's what happened and our kids handled it well. We defended so beautifully at times. I thought Sietske Brüning was outstanding, Maddi Orobono was outstanding.
"I give credit to our team – they really played well."
In the day's second semifinal game, Virginia beat Wake Forest 3-2 in overtime to set the championship matchup. The Tar Heels and Cavaliers will meet in the title game for the sixth time overall and the second consecutive year – in the 2021 championship game, played in Syracuse, N.Y., UNC won 1-0 to claim the crown after beating the host Orange in the semifinals.
No. 1 UNC 2, No. 10 Syracuse 1
Scoring: UNC – Erin Matson (penalty stroke), 33:18; UNC – Ryleigh Heck (Sietske Brüning), 45:54; SU – Joy Haarman (Charlotte de Vries), 51:47
Shots: UNC 13 (3/4/5/1), SU 6 (2/0/0/4)
Penalty Corners: UNC 6 (2/2/1/1), SU 2 (1/0/0/1)
Goalkeeper Saves: UNC 2 (Kylie Walbert, 30:00, 0 goals allowed, 1 save; Abigail Taylor, 30:00, 1 goal allowed, 1 save); SU 5 (Brooke Borzymowski, 60:00, 2 goals allowed, 5 saves)
Defensive Saves: UNC 1 (Sietske Brüning)
Records: UNC 16-0, Syracuse 15-5
"At this point in time, it doesn't matter what the game looks like – it's survive and advance," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "We wanted to get to the final and we found a way to get there."
The Tar Heels (16-0) will take on Virginia in a quest for their sixth consecutive title and 25th overall. UNC is in the title game for the eighth year in a row and 29th time overall, out of 40 possible opportunities.
On a sunny afternoon at Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium, UNC played through the first two quarters without a goal for just the third time this season and the first since a 2-0 win over Wake Forest on Sept. 23. Syracuse also hadn't scored by halftime, with much of the credit going to two early saves by Tar Heel defenders. Just two minutes into the day's action, the Orange got off a pair of shots, with UNC goalkeeper Kylie Walbert making a save on the first and freshman midfielder Sietske Brüning knocking the second Syracuse shot out of the air at the goal line to keep her team from falling behind early.
After that, the Orange didn't get off another shot until the fourth quarter. The Tar Heels came up with seven shots in the first half but couldn't drive one home.
Carolina saw its fortunes change early in the third quarter when the Tar Heels were awarded a penalty stroke. Senior Erin Matson delivered – she's now 4-for-4 on strokes this season and has, according to her coach, "nerves of steel" – and UNC moved ahead for good.
UNC added another goal 54 seconds into the fourth quarter. On the team's sixth and final penalty corner of the day, Brüning took the initial shot and freshman Ryleigh Heck deflected it in for her 14th goal of the year and a 2-0 lead. "The corner goal was a set piece, something we've been working on, and it was executed brilliantly," Shelton said. "That's what you need to do in games like this."
Syracuse scored in the 52nd minute of play, with Joy Haarman batting in a cross from Charlotte de Vries for the goal. The Orange hadn't had a single shot since the two in the opening minutes but managed four in the fourth quarter to finish with six on the day. SU came into the game averaging 16.44 shots per game, second in the ACC to UNC's 17.33 per game.
The Tar Heels also were below their season average, finishing with 13 on the day, and they scored less than half their nation-best average of 4.27 goals per game.
"I think it's exactly what we needed at this moment in time, to play somebody hard that competed for every ball, that stressed us to the limit," Shelton said. "That's what happened and our kids handled it well. We defended so beautifully at times. I thought Sietske Brüning was outstanding, Maddi Orobono was outstanding.
"I give credit to our team – they really played well."
In the day's second semifinal game, Virginia beat Wake Forest 3-2 in overtime to set the championship matchup. The Tar Heels and Cavaliers will meet in the title game for the sixth time overall and the second consecutive year – in the 2021 championship game, played in Syracuse, N.Y., UNC won 1-0 to claim the crown after beating the host Orange in the semifinals.
No. 1 UNC 2, No. 10 Syracuse 1
Scoring: UNC – Erin Matson (penalty stroke), 33:18; UNC – Ryleigh Heck (Sietske Brüning), 45:54; SU – Joy Haarman (Charlotte de Vries), 51:47
Shots: UNC 13 (3/4/5/1), SU 6 (2/0/0/4)
Penalty Corners: UNC 6 (2/2/1/1), SU 2 (1/0/0/1)
Goalkeeper Saves: UNC 2 (Kylie Walbert, 30:00, 0 goals allowed, 1 save; Abigail Taylor, 30:00, 1 goal allowed, 1 save); SU 5 (Brooke Borzymowski, 60:00, 2 goals allowed, 5 saves)
Defensive Saves: UNC 1 (Sietske Brüning)
Records: UNC 16-0, Syracuse 15-5
Team Stats
SU
NC
Goals
1
2
Shots
6
13
Shots on Goal
4
7
Saves
5
3
Corners
2
6
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
0
0
Scoring Plays
Erin Matson (21)
NC Erin Matson PENALTY STROKE GOAL, goal number 21 for season.
33:18
Ryleigh Heck (14)
Assisted By: Sietske Bruning
redirect off penalty corner sweep
45:54
Haarman, Joy (7)
Assisted By: de Vries, Charlotte
shot knocked down from high pass
51:47
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
6
SOG
4
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Bill Belichick Coach's Corner - Episode 4 - September 17, 2025
Wednesday, September 17
UNC Men's Soccer: Tar Heels Shut Out Memphis, 3-0
Wednesday, September 17
UNC Volleyball: Hampton, Heels Top App State in 4 Sets
Wednesday, September 17
Tar Heel 1ON1: Season 2, Episode 1 (Ryleigh Heck, Dani Mendez, Kaleigh Harden)
Tuesday, September 16