Field hockey ?nally allows goal in win

DURHAM — At the end of the North Carolina field hockey game against Duke, a mixture of frustration and relief was evident on the face of senior captain Dani Forword.

The No. 2 Tar Heels had just finished off rival No. 14 Duke for the second time this season in a 2-1 nail-biter.

“We haven’t been challenged like that, and we haven’t not scored in the first five (minutes)” Forword said “The longer we take to score, the longer Duke is in the game.”

The game marked an end to North Carolina’s streak of nine shutout wins that tied the ACC record.

The Tar Heels had not scored fewer than three goals since the season opener against Michigan, and gave up its third goal of the season to Duke.

“I give all the credit to Duke. I think they came out hungry and more aggressive, and I think they gave us everything we could handle,” coach Karen Shelton said.

“It wasn’t a pretty game but I’m delighted that the girls found a way to win.”

UNC had to play roughly 16 minutes into the first half before junior midfielder Katelyn Falgowski would record UNC’s first goal.

The play came on a broken corner attempt where Falgowski improvised and found an opening on the right side, giving her enough room to take a shot.

“It was nice to get that first goal and it was obviously off a short corner which is something we work to get,” Forword said. “It helped even though it was so late.”

But Duke quickly scored a goal to notch the game at one a piece.

The second half ensued in a similar fashion to the first, with many turnovers and missed opportunities. The Tar Heels struggled to find much offense and were busy fending off Duke’s aggressive attackers until they were able to draw a penalty corner late in the second half.

After breaking the huddle, North Carolina attempted its corner. The Tar Heels uncharacteristically struggled with corners against Duke.

But, after a few consecutive corner chances, Forword found midfielder Kelsey Kolojejchick at the far post for the game winning tip-in with less than five minutes remaining.

The Tar Heel players rushed Kolojejchick at the top of the scoring circle in jubilation.

“Dani did all the work. She did such a great job and I was just there,” Kolojejchick said. “It’s good to get a win at their home field because, I don’t know, I like beating them all the time.”

North Carolina attempted nine penalty corners but scored on just one of its set corner plays.

UNC — typically very dangerous on penalty corners — struggled to control the roll of the ball on Duke’s uneven field surface.

“In our defense, I will say that their field is an issue,” Shelton said. “We rely on a consistent surface and I think that, psychologically, didn’t help because we were nervous about the bouncing ball.”

North Carolina travels to No. 3 Virginia on Saturday in what should be the team’s most difficult challenge yet, but UNC players weren’t quite ready to move past the victory against Duke just yet.

“I’m sorry Dukies when we play you on the field, we’re not there to help you out,” Forword said.


Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.