The No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team was tied 1-1 in sudden death overtime Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament with No. 7 Duke, the host of the tournament.
Minutes later, the announcer said the referees were going to review the final play. When they came back on the field, they announced UNC was awarded a penalty stroke after junior Emily Wold was fouled in the circle.
“It’s the captain’s job to call a review, and immediately, I knew I was right,” Travers said. “I was yelling to the ref closest to me, because I didn’t want to take a long corner because the minute we take a long corner, the opportunity to have that review is gone, so I was going ballistic until she listened.
“I had no doubt in my mind that we were going to get something.”
Junior Nina Notman stepped up for the penalty stroke and shot the ball into the cage in the lower left corner. Game over.
“There was a lot of pressure, but if you take strokes, you know you’re under pressure, and you get used to it,” Notman said.
Notman’s goal earned UNC the 2-1 victory and advancement to the semi-finals of the ACC tournament. The Tar Heels will play No. 6 Syracuse today at 3:30. UNC beat Syracuse 3-0 in Chapel Hill on Sept. 12.
Travers’ enthusiastic insistence wound up being the key for the Tar Heels’ victory. During the regular season, video reviews are not an option, so the situation was a little unclear.