Four Tar Heels Score As FH Wins 4-1 At Saint Joseph's

Sunday, October 1

Merion Station, Pa.

1 PM

North Carolina

(8-1)

Saint Joseph's

(9-3)

North Carolina

Saint Joseph's

Senior Paityn Wirth scored the Tar Heels' final goal in a 4-1 win at Saint Joseph's.

Photo by: Michael Nance

October 1, 2023 | Field Hockey

Box Score

MERION STATION, Pa. – After trailing early, the second-ranked UNC field hockey team stormed back to beat No. 13 Saint Joseph's 4-1 Sunday afternoon at the Hawks' Ellen Ryan Field. The Tar Heels got goals from four different players – freshman Charly Bruder, sophomores Sietske Brüning and Ryleigh Heck, and senior Paityn Wirth – to earn the victory.

UNC improved to 8-1 overall, 4-0 in road games and 3-0 in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

"It was an important out-of-conference win against a tough and disciplined team," UNC coach Erin Matson said. "We had a little bit of a slow start but stuck to the gameplan. The way we played in the second half, that's what we want to look like."

The host Hawks edged ahead late in the first quarter on a goal by Manu Ghigliotti and held that advantage for more than nine minutes until Carolina finally got on the board. In the 24^th minute of play on one of four second-quarter penalty corners, SJU keeper Janelle Ward saved the first Tar Heel shot but the rebound popped out to Bruder, who sent it back to tie the game at 1-1.

Carolina drew a corner with five seconds left on the second-quarter clock and scored the go-ahead goal with no time remaining before the break. Heck sent a short pass left to Brüning, who delivered her first goal of the season to put the Tar Heels up 2-1.

After neither team scored in the third quarter, the Tar Heels struck twice in the fourth. In the 48^th minute, Heck found herself marked by three Hawks in the circle. She spun around them, dribbled toward the cage and then, while falling to the turf, flipped the ball over Ward and into the goal to make it 3-1.

With eight minutes to play, UNC added another to go up 4-1. On a counterattack, Heck passed ahead to Bruder at the top of the circle and Bruder then sent it to the right side to Wirth, who redirected it into the cage for the score.

It marked the second game in a row that four different players have scored goals for Carolina, providing a balanced attack Matson loves to see. "That's been one of the questions, 'who is clicking, who is going to step up and be the scorer," she said. "To see it spread out on the forward line is very promising. There was variation in our threats in the attacking end of the field and that's what we want to produce to continue to be unpredictable."

UNC finished with a 17-6 edge in shots and a 9-6 advantage in penalty corners. Tar Heel goalkeeper Maddie Kahn made two saves, both in the third quarter, and junior back Kelly Smith made a defensive save on a fourth-quarter penalty corner, getting her stick on the ball to keep SJU from adding a late goal.

Next up for Carolina is back-to-back home games, against Boston College on Friday and Liberty next Sunday.

No. 2 UNC 4, No. 13 Saint Joseph's 1
Scoring: SJU – Manu Ghigliotti (Celeste Smits), 14:28; UNC – Charly Bruder, 23:54; UNC – Sietske Brüning (Ryleigh Heck), 30:00; UNC – Heck, 47:27; UNC – Paityn Wirth (Bruder), 52:06
Shots: UNC 17 (4/6/3/4), SJU 6 (3/0/2/1)
Penalty corners: UNC 9 (2/4/2/1), SJU 6 (2/1/1/2)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 2 (Maddie Kahn, 60:00. 2 saves, 1 goal allowed), SJU 7 (Janelle Ward, 60:00, 7 saves, 4 goals allowed)
Defensive saves: UNC 1 (Kelly Smith)
Records: UNC 8-1, SJU 9-3