CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The No. 9 Virginia field hockey team (5-2, 1-1 ACC) downed the No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels (3-4, 0-1 ACC) 2-1 on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 20) at Karen Shelton Stadium.
Goals (Assist)
00:38 Virginia – Lauren Sloan (Mary Adams, Emma Watchilla)
6:31 North Carolina - Charly Bruder (Coco Courtright)
30:00 Virginia - Amelie Rees (unassisted)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia wasted no time on Sunday, as Mary Adams recorded the first shot of the game just 27 seconds in. The initial UVA push earned a pair of penalty corners for Virginia and directly led to Lauren Sloan scoring the first goal of the afternoon. Adams and Emma Watchilla assisted Sloan’s second goal of the season. After fending off a third UVA penalty corner of the opening quarter, North Carolina carried the pace for the rest of the frame and tied the game at 1-1 on a Charly Bruder goal at the 8:32 mark. Virginia reversed the Tar Heel tide in the second quarter as the Cavaliers outshot UNC 7-2 in the stanza and tallied six penalty corners. Of the six corners, five came in the final 20 seconds of the half. On the fifth and final try, Amelie Rees tipped in a goal that put UVA out front 2-1 at the break.
After a tightly contested third quarter, the Virginia defense stood tall as the Cavaliers fended off a furious UNC comeback attempt that included 10 shots and seven penalty corners for the Tar Heels. UVA goalkeeper Nilou Lempers answered the call over the final 15 minutes by making a pair of saves to secure the Virginia victory.
Starting in goal, UVA’s Lempers tied her season-high mark with five saves on six shots while North Carolina’s Merritt Skubisz made two saves on four shots.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Second year Lauren Sloan netted her second goal of the season and third of her career on Sunday.
- Third year Amelie Rees scored her first goal of the season and the fourth of her career on Sunday.
- Virginia outshot North Carolina 16-14 on the afternoon while each team had six shots on goal.
- The Cavaliers had 12 penalty corners to North Carolina’s eight.
- Sunday’s win at North Carolina was the first time that the Cavaliers downed the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill since a 2-1 victory on Sept. 17, 2006.
FROM HEAD COACH OLE KEUSGEN
“Super proud of our belief, effort and desire to win today. This was a hard-fought win, where everyone did their part and everyone contributed. We connected well today and created a lot of opportunities, which ultimately was the difference.”
ON THE HORIZON
UVA will return home on Sept. 25 for a showdown with Syracuse at Turf Field. The Alumni Weekend contest is slated to get underway at 4 p.m. and will be streamed on ACCNX.