Virginia Comeback Falls Short in ACC Championship Match

DURHAM, N.C. – The Virginia field hockey team (13-7, 3-3 ACC) suffered a 3-2 loss against No. 1 North Carolina (17-0, 6-0 ACC) in the final match of the 2022 ACC Field Hockey Championships on Friday (Nov. 4) at Jack Katz Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Virginia did not take a shot in the first half and trailed the Tar Heels 2-0 heading into the final period. The Cavaliers scored twice in the final 12:30 of the game, but an insurance goal by the Tar Heels’ Ryleigh Heck in the final four minutes of the contest proved to be the difference.

HOW IT HAPPENED

North Carolina scored on a penalty corner ten minutes into the first quarter. They added a second penalty corner goal nine minutes into the second half to put Virginia in a 2-0 deficit.

The Cavaliers took their first shot 6:44 into the second half, a shot wide right by Laura Janssen. The Cavaliers scored on their second shot of the game. Meghen Hengerer sent a pass to the far side of the cage where Annie McDonough had an open view of the net and scored to cut the deficit to one. Heck scored with 3:03 remaining, taking a shot from the endline after getting past the Virginia defenders to put the Tar Heels back up by two. Ninety seconds later, Janssen scored on a redirect off a shot by Cato Geusgens on a penalty corner, making it a one-goal game with 1:35 remaining. Virginia pulled its goalkeeper, but the Tar Heel defense held on for the win.

NOTES

• Annie McDonough, Adele Iacobucci and Taryn Tkachuk were named to the All-Tournament Team
• UNC outshot Virginia 18-5 and led 10-3 on penalty corners
• Jet Trimborn made a career-high seven saves
• Annie McDonough’s goal was her second of the tournament and third of the season
• Laura Janssen’s goal was her team-leading 11^th of the season
• Meghen Hengerer’s assist was her third of the tournament
• This is North Carolina’s sixth-straight ACC title. The last team to win the Championship other than the Tar Heels was Virginia in 2016
• This is the second-straight year Virginia lost by one goal to North Carolina in the championship match

FROM HEAD COACH MICHELE MADISON

“The team fought hard to the end with the belief and desire they competed with to get us to the final. There were some world-class hockey moments today. We had several players come through when needed. Emily Fields sparked us in the third quarter today and got the attack going.  Taryn, Annie, Meghen and Adele sparked us in the semi-final to win it. Solid play by Jet as she set a career high in saves. Total team defense that was fierce and relentless. I am looking forward to a good rest and the release of the brackets on Sunday. Thank you to Duke for hosting a great ACC tournament, and congratulations to UNC.”

ON THE HORIZON

• The NCAA Championship Selection Show will stream on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com
• First and second-round matches will be played at four sites to be announced on Sunday evening. First-round matches will be played on Friday, Nov. 11 and second-round games on Sunday, Nov. 13
• The NCAA semifinals and championships will be held Nov. 18-20 in Storrs, Conn.