FH Earns 3-0 Victory At Wake Forest

Friday, September 22

Winston-Salem, N.C.

5 PM

North Carolina

(5-1)

Wake Forest

(3-2)

North Carolina

WAKE FOREST

UNC's Jasmina Smolenaars had a goal and an assist in Friday's win.

September 22, 2023 | Field Hockey

Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Two Atlantic Coast Conference games, zero goals allowed.

The second-ranked UNC field hockey team earned its second-consecutive ACC shutout on Friday, beating host Wake Forest 3-0 at Kentner Stadium to improve to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in ACC play.

"Wake Forest is such a tough opponent and we knew a strength is their counter-attack and their corner breakouts," UNC coach Erin Matson said. "We saw everybody working hard to get back and we saw good tackles coming up with it, we saw cheering from the bench, and just good team defense overall. And we were able to put some away on the attacking side. Overall a great performance from everybody."

The Tar Heels, who opened league play a week ago with a 2-0 win over Louisville at home, return to action quickly, hosting Appalachian State on Sunday at noon. The game has been dubbed Fhockey Fest and fans can expect pumpkin painting, tailgate games, and free t-shirts for the first 250.

On Friday, in the first ACC road game of the season, the Tar Heels got the only goal they'd need just before halftime. Senior captain Katie Dixon scored on a penalty corner in the 27^th minute, redirecting a ball by Jasmina Smolenaars to take a 1-0 lead into halftime.

The Tar Heels hung onto that margin until late in the game, when they got two goals in a 19-second span. Smolenaars scored her first goal of the season on a penalty corner with 1:37 to play in the game, driving for the shot following Kelly Smith's stick stop.

Carolina quickly added another, with graduate student Pleun Lammers notching her first goal as a Tar Heel. Smolenaars sent a ball into the circle to freshman Sanne Hak, who stopped it at the far post and sent it back across the cage to Lammers, who flipped it in for the final score.

Graduate goalkeeper Maddie Kahn made six saves for the Tar Heels, who now have three shutouts on the year.

"The shutout is huge for us," Matson said. "We can score goals but it's the icing on the cake not to let any in. Maddie is a huge part of that. She's been stepping up in big moments, and today she had a couple of saves where it could have completely changed the momentum of the game. She's been playing awesome."

No. 2 UNC 3, No. 17 Wake Forest 0
Scoring: UNC – Katie Dixon (Jasmina Smolenaars), 26:28; UNC – Smolenaars (Kelly Smith), 58:23; UNC – Pleun Lammers (Sanne Hak), 58:42
Shots: UNC 15 (5/3/2/5), Wake 7 (0/3/3/1)
Penalty corners: UNC 11 (3/2/2/4), Wake 3 (0/1/2/0)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 6 (Maddie Kahn, 60:00, 6 saves, 0 goals allowed), WFU 6 (Ellie Todd, 60:00, 6 saves, 3 goals allowed)
Records: UNC 6-1 (2-0 ACC), WFU 3-3 (0-1 ACC)