Penalty corners crucial to UNC success

With its 4-0 win against Davidson on Tuesday, North Carolina again was an offensive powerhouse, having outscored opponents 38-5 throughout the season.

The Tar Heels' dominance is largely due to their ability to capitalize on penalty corners, a key scoring opportunity in field hockey.

"We have about six basic sets, and then you have options off those sets, so we have about 12 different choices," said Coach Karen Shelton.

An offensive team receives a penalty corner when its opponent breaches any rule within the 25-yard line or when a defender intentionally hits the ball over the goal line from any part of the field.

"We like to score 30 percent," Shelton said. "A good team will score 30 percent."

UNC capitalized on a penalty corner for its third goal of the night, compliments of junior defender Naomi Weatherald, eight minutes into the second half. The Tar Heels converted on only one of 15 opportunities, though - a percentage far from Shelton's standard.

But Shelton wasn't worried about the completion rate.

"Tonight, we intentionally did not do a lot of our different options because Wake Forest was here scouting us."

North Carolina demonstrated its ability to capitalize on penalty corners last Saturday when one turned out to be the deciding factor in the 2-1 victory against Duke.

Penalty corners usually are viewed as effective scoring opportunities, and defending one is never a desirable position.

Weatherald, who scored on the penalty corner for the Tar Heels on Tuesday, tackles this challenge with a simple strategy.

"I basically concentrate on trying to box out the girls and let the goalie focus on the straight shots," she said.

UNC's main defensive strategy against these corners is known as the 3-1.

"Three come out from the left and one steps to the ball, and then you've got the post player that protects at the goalie's feet," Weatherald said.

With Weatherald powering the defense, both converting and defending the corner could be crucial in Saturday's game against the Demon Deacons.

"We have a lot of different things we can do, and we didn't do them tonight intentionally," Shelton said.

Scouting or not, Wake Forest will have to figure out a way to limit UNC's penalty corners or likely suffer defeat to the No. 1 team in the nation.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.