New Zealand Talent Boosts Tar Heel Depth

But never, ever call her Australian.

That's the one thing that can get on North Carolina field hockey midfielder Laura Douglas' nerves. She's from New Zealand, an entirely different country.

"To say she's from Australia is a huge insult," said Carey Fetting-Smith, Douglas' roommate who also plays on the field hockey team. "She's really proud of her country, and it being different from Australia. Lots of people think she's from Australia because of her accent. Sometimes it drives her crazy."

The sophomore is the first New Zealander to ever play field hockey for UNC, but she hasn't had any trouble fitting in on the field.

Even while battling a severely bruised knee, she has surpassed Tar Heel coach Karen Shelton's initial expectations.

"She's really playing well," Shelton said. "We needed someone strong to step in at midfield, and she's stronger than what I expected, even with her injury."

Last year, Douglas competed with a torn ACL and did not fulfill her potential. After the season ended, she had surgery to fix the problem.

"Last semester was hard -- I was quite miserable," Douglas said. "I'm having a lot more fun playing this year. They never saw me play before I got here, and it was tough playing with an injury that way.

"I feel really good about this year's team. We're more of a team instead of individuals, and I think we'll go really well this year."

The team is looking forward to its rematch with Michigan, the team that knocked top-ranked UNC out of last year's NCAA tournament in the first round. The teams face off at Henry Stadium at noon Saturday.

"We have a huge mentality of 'it's going to be payback time' this year," Fetting-Smith said.

UNC also has its eye on a national championship, which has eluded the perennially top-ranked team since 1997.

"You have a general goal of learning to play field hockey better, but right now we are 100 percent competing to win the national championship," Fetting-Smith said.

"We've got our superstars, but beyond that, we've got a really disciplined team. It's not centered on one person, it's centered on 11 people who are going to win."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sportsdesk@unc.edu.