Tar Heels Battle Back For 3-2 OT Win

Sunday, August 28

Winston-Salem, N.C.

4 PM

North Carolina

(2-0)

Iowa

(1-1)

IOWA

North Carolina

Photo by: Andy Mead

August 28, 2022 | Field Hockey

Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – After trailing 2-0 at halftime, the North Carolina field hockey team stormed back to beat Iowa 3-2 in overtime on Sunday at Wake Forest's Kentner Stadium in the final game of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

The Tar Heels, ranked No. 2 in the preseason national poll, improved to 2-0 on the season. Fifth-ranked Iowa, which beat Wake Forest in double OT on Friday, fell to 1-1.

"Credit to Iowa – I thought it was a gutsy performance," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "They defend better than anybody in the country. I congratulate them and I know it was a heart-breaking loss, but I'm thrilled for our Heels. We showed great leadership and resilience."

A beautiful day for a come-from-behind Carolina Victory! 😎 Highlights from today's OT win vs Iowa ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/CvGA0K1S6B — UNC Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) August 28, 2022

After Iowa scored early in both the first and second quarters on what would prove to be the Hawkeyes' only shots of the game, the Tar Heels were down 2-0 at halftime and well into the third quarter. In the 42^nd minute, senior Meredith Sholder sent a ball to the front of the cage and sophomore Lisa Slinkert batted it inside the right post to pull UNC within one.

Eleven minutes later, the Tar Heels drew three penalty corners in a row and scored on the third. Senior Erin Matson's shot was blocked and freshman Sietske Brüning gathered the rebound and put a shot between the keeper's legs to tie the game at 2-2 with 7:23 remaining in regulation.

As the game went into overtime, UNC spent the first minute a player down after Brüning was handed a green card in the final minute of regulation. But the Tar Heels were able to wait out that threat and continue to attack.

"It was a hard-fought game," Shelton said. "As a coach you don't want to have a game like that, but it's really good for you. It tested everything that we had, and so early in the season. The good thing is I think we had prepared for being down – we talk about being man-down, goal-down, we practice those scenarios so I felt like the team was prepared."

Just under four minutes into the extra period, freshman Ryleigh Heck forced a turnover on the near sideline and then passed to classmate Ashley Sessa, who shot from the top of the circle. Grace McGuire, the Iowa keeper, made her 11^th save of the day and the rebound bounced out to Matson, who directed the game-winning shot past the keeper and into the right side of the cage. After a quick celebration with her teammates, Matson chased after McGuire to give her a high five and a hug.

That leadership in a hectic game meant even more to Shelton than the goal did. Matson and Shoulder serve as the captains and they made sure their teammates were able to stay calm even while trailing. UNC started four first-year players on Sunday, and of UNC's eight goals so far this season, Matson has two and the rest have been scored by sophomores (one) and freshmen (five).

"More important than scoring the goals is providing the calm and focus out there," Shelton said. "It's not always about scoring the goals, especially with the young group (Matson) has running with her up front."

UNC finished with 22 shots to Iowa's two and didn't give up a corner, while drawing seven.

The Tar Heels are back in action on Friday with their first home game of the season, hosting Princeton at 5 p.m.

No. 2 UNC 3, No. 5 Iowa, OT
Scoring: Iowa – Alex Wesneski, 3:43; Iowa – Sofie Stribos, 16:21; UNC – Lisa Slinkert (Meredith Sholder), 41:22; UNC – Sietske Brüning, 52:37; UNC – Erin Matson, 63:59
Shots: UNC 22 (3/7/5/5/2), Iowa 2 (1/1/0/0/0)
Penalty corners: UNC 7 (2/0/0/4/1), Iowa 0
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 0 (Kylie Walbert, 30:00, 2 goals allowed, 0 saves; Abigail Taylor, 33:59, 0 goals allowed, 0 saves), Iowa 11 (Grace McGuire, 63:59, 3 goals allowed, 11 saves)
Records: UNC 2-0, Iowa 1-1