Aggressive teams collide in close contest

WINSTON-SALEM - With players on both teams shoving, checking and tripping, calling the match between No. 1 North Carolina and No. 2 Wake Forest physical would be an understatement.

"They probably looked at the tape from last week where we played a little bit more physical," said Coach Karen Shelton. "They probably made the adjustment to be more physical this week."

Early in the game, as senior Kelsey Keeran was trying to get the ball down to the offensive end, Wake Forest defender Claire Laubach elbowed her out of the way and managed to steal the ball.

Soon after, WFU's Kelly Dostal was forced into a collision with UNC's Rachel Dawson, tossing Dostal's stick high into the air and causing her to fall.

"We tried to just concentrate on our defense and how we were going to play as a team, whether it's trapping (UNC) to one side or just all the pressure that we put on them," Laubach said.

The tenacious play of Wake's defense continued through the half. One of the Tar Heels' scoring opportunities demonstrated the attacking nature of the game.

Fifteen minutes into the first half, Keeran came sliding out in front of the Deacon defense to catch a pass, muscling her way through Laubach for a shot.

"We talked about it a little bit at halftime," said UNC midfielder Brooke Miller. "Last week, we thought that we were more physical than them, and they were much more physical this week."

Miller's aggressive play even earned a somewhat controversial yellow card when she knocked over a Wake Forest midfielder.

"She was shielding the ball," said Miller, who was heckled by Wake Forest fans as she jogged to the penalty chair. "So I did push her a little bit, but I had no other way to get to the ball."

Shelton would not comment on the officiating but was clearly displeased with some of the calls during the game.

"We got two (yellow cards) last week and one this week, and they didn't get any," she said. "I'm not sure why that is."

A yellow card grants a player at least a 5-minute suspension from the game.

Toward the end of the second half, Keeran violently collided with another Wake defender, tumbling over her. It was the third time Keeran had flipped over an opponent, but no call was made on that play.

But the officiating was not the reason Wake Forest continued to play so aggressively.

"Any game against Carolina is a good matchup," Laubach said. "We all came out ready to play with a lot of heart."

By the end of regulation, the intensity of the top-ranked teams left the score tied. Each team nearly ended the overtime on high shots that deflected off of the post.

"It's harder in seven versus seven situations to protect against the long ball," Laubach said. "I think we probably got away with one at the end."

Despite a close game, UNC couldn't quite overcome the physicality of Wake Forest and pull off a victory.

"They were playing a very physical game," said North Carolina senior co-captain Carey Fetting-Smith.

"You could tell that that was one of their focuses for this game. They were beating us to the ball this time, and they were rolling off the ball a little better than us."

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.