UNC field hockey sweeps season opener

The No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team kicked off coach Karen Shelton’s 30th season with two wins in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.

The Tar Heels ousted Michigan on Saturday and Iowa on Sunday, each by a count of 3-0.

The defense was particularly impressive Sunday afternoon as Iowa wasn’t able to get its first shot of the game until the 65th minute.

“A trademark of Carolina field hockey is our defensive effort and the pride we take in defending our goal,” Shelton said after Sunday’s win. “We had a great defensive effort today.”

Maybe most impressive was that the Tar Heels won both games by a comfortable margin without their senior captain, Katelyn Falgowski, on the field.

“I was exceptionally proud with two shutouts and not having our senior captain on the field,” Shelton said after the game. “To beat two great teams and do it with two shutouts is a heck of an accomplishment.”

Falgowski received a concussion during practice last week but should be back for the Tar Heels’ matchup against Wake Forest on Friday.

“We have exceptional testing, and we understand very well the dangers of head trauma,” Shelton said. “We’re going to be cautious with her.”

The Tar Heels’ defensive focus was on display Sunday as they outshot the Hawkeyes 18-1 and only allowed them to get the ball inside the circle on a handful of possessions.

“Our coach wants us to get as many shutouts as we can, so that was good on the defensive part, but offensively I think we can improve,” sophomore Kelsey Kolojejchick said.

The scoring started with sophomore Caitlin Van Sickle’s first career goal in the game’s 19th minute. As Iowa’s goalie was searching for a deflected shot sitting just behind her foot, Van Sickle swooped in to tap the ball over the scoring line.

“It was kind of lucky, but I’ll take it,” Van Sickle said.

Kolojejchick and junior Taryn Gjurich recorded their second goals of the young season within two minutes of each other.

The goals came just before the halftime buzzer sounded to cap North Carolina’s scoring for the day.

Although UNC won both of its games by a final score of 3-0, things didn’t always look so promising for the Tar Heels.

In North Carolina’s first game of the weekend, Michigan’s speed and athleticism bothered UNC.

The Tar Heels weren’t able to get on the board in a first half that saw them scramble back on defense a number of times.

What Coach Shelton said at halftime must have hit home for the team as UNC scored three goals and limited the Wolverines to only four shots in the second half.

“We were able to make some adjustments. I was very pleased with our defensive effort,” Shelton said.

The team carried that momentum from the second half into Sunday’s game.

“(Saturday) we were more reactive instead of proactive, and (Sunday) we came out and forced the action,” Shelton said.

North Carolina’s performance this weekend indicated that the team’s preseason No. 1 ranking was warranted despite losing its two leading scorers from 2009.

But the Tar Heels, who hadn’t been ranked as high as No. 1 last season until their victory in the championship game, aren’t putting too much stock in that ranking.

“It’s not where you start; it’s where you finish,” Shelton said. “All that matters is who’s No. 1 at the end of the year.”

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