Field hockey's perfect streak ends with loss to Terps

The No. 2 North Carolina field hockey team had only allowed four goals this season — but that was before they had played No. 1 Maryland.

In their Saturday matchup against the Terrapins, the Tar Heels doubled that number in a decisive 4-1 loss at home. The team had only given up one goal at Henry Stadium before the game.

“We didn’t play as well as we needed to play defensively, and it has been a strength of ours all season,” UNC coach Karen Shelton said. “But I also feel like Maryland gave us an awful lot to handle.”

At the start of the game it was clear that both teams were ready for the challenge and national title implications.

North Carolina (15-1) came out in a fury, dominating much of the first half of play and hardly letting Maryland sniff its side of the field, though UNC did not score.

“It’s just unlucky because we did come out here really strong,” freshman midfielder Kelsey Kolojejchick said. “I mean, we dominated the first 20 minutes, and you need to score. When you have your defense working really hard, you just need to score on your corner opportunities.”

Maryland (17-0) survived the flood of UNC attackers to push the ball down the field and force a penalty corner of its own.

The pass came into the scoring circle, and Maryland senior back Emma Thomas hit a shot that bounced by North Carolina goalie Jackie Kintzer for the game’s first score.

The Tar Heels found themselves behind for just the second time all season, and the first since the season opener against Michigan on Aug. 29.

One minute after Maryland’s first goal, Terrapins senior Nicole Muracco scored after Katie O’Donnell intercepted a pass in front of UNC’s goal.

“When you get your first corner, and you score on it after the other team has had some opportunities, that’s a huge momentum swing, and Maryland was able to seize it and then expand from there,” Shelton said.

At halftime, UNC found itself down by two, a hill the team had yet to scale this season.

Maryland started the second half with the ball, but neither team controlled the tempo in the early minutes. It was at a stalemate until Muracco scored a goal that summarized the game for UNC.

The senior forward was at the right post of UNC’s goal with the ball driving left. She planted her right foot and flung the ball behind her at Kintzer. Kintzer had position to close the gap, but the ball found a sliver of space between Kintzer and the post for Maryland’s third goal.

“I think we did really well, it was just unlucky,” Kolojejchick said. “We’ll be back for them next time.”

Maryland scored once more in the fourth quarter to push its lead to 4-0 on a shot by O’Donnell.

The Tar Heels continued to fight for a goal in the closing minutes, drawing four penalty corners in the final three minutes of play.

“I think our kids didn’t stop playing, and I like that,” Shelton said. “I thought they fought hard the entire game.”

With 43 seconds left in the game, UNC junior forward Jen Slocum scored the team’s only goal on a rebound from a blocked shot.

Seemingly, the goal only prevented the Tar Heels from being on the other side of a shutout for once this season, but its value stretched beyond the numbers.

“It felt good,” Kolojejchick said. “I think it showed to everybody that we’re never going to give up in any kind of game situation.”

North Carolina will remain the No. 2 seed for the upcoming ACC tournament, which begins Nov. 5.

UNC said Maryland had revealed a lot of its weaknesses Saturday, which they intend to fix for when they hope to meet Maryland again in either the ACC Championship or possibly the NCAA Tournament.

“I think they understand the big picture,” Shelton said. “This one is not the one that’s really that important. There are some things at stake, yes. It’s the most important game of the season, because it’s today, but in the big picture, it’s not going to make a whole lot of difference.”



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.