Top scorer injured in _¶ rst ACC loss

In a weekend when the No. 4 North Carolina field hockey team dropped its first ACC game of the year the defeat on the field might not have been the biggest loss the Tar Heels suffered.

In the 2-0 loss to No. 15 Boston College junior UNC forward Danielle Forword went down with a right knee injury and did not return UNC athletic department spokeswoman Dana Gelin said. She also missed the weekend's second contest against Yale.

Gelin said the exact injury has yet to be determined by team doctors who continue to evaluate Forword's knee. An MRI is scheduled for this week.

The East London South Africa native leads UNC (10-3 2-1 ACC)   in scoring. Her 16 goals are nearly double that of senior Britt van Beek's second-place nine.

While discussing the game  against Boston College (9-4 1-3 ACC) on Monday UNC coach Karen Shelton drew parallels to the Tar Heels' first loss of the season" a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Iowa.

""The games are very similar. I felt like we dominated the first half of play" really had chances to score and gave the game away in the first half. And we allowed our opposition to keep it close Shelton said.

We gained some momentum and they got a goal with 30 minutes on the clock. We were doing well and we were getting chances" and then they got another goal.

""That's when we sort of lost our composure. We went away from our game plan and our strategy as a team.""

The loss was also the first time North Carolina suffered a shutout loss since Nov. 3"" 2006.

Shelton said the opportunities to score were there but her squad for some reason couldn't break through.

""We were having problems scoring goals" Shelton said. You're going to get so many chances and when you've got them" you have to take advantage of them.""

UNC bounced back Sunday with a 3-1 win against Yale — also played at Boston College. But it didn't come easy.

The Bulldogs scored early and took a 1-0 lead to halftime.

""It was a long weekend" and we started off the game a little flat" Shelton said. That put our backs against the wall a little bit.""

But UNC responded strongly" scoring three second-half goals en route to a 3-1 win.

With the loss to Boston College UNC lost its spot atop the ACC standings. The Tar Heels sit half a game behind conference-best Maryland.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.