UNC Field hockey wins pair of games, move to 7-0

In a game that saw the No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team take a season-high 31 shots on its way to a 5-0 victory against William & Mary, it was the team’s defense that stood out.

Preseason All-ACC selection Jackie Kintzer spent most of Sunday afternoon watching her teammates attack the William & Mary goal as the Tribe was seldom able to get the ball into the Tar Heel defensive third.

“Thankfully (Sunday) they played really well and didn’t make any mistakes,” Kintzer said.

“I didn’t have to do anything.”

North Carolina (7-0) controlled possession for much of Sunday afternoon after a hard-fought battle against Old Dominion in its 3-1 win on Friday.

When UNC happened to lose possession, it did what Kintzer referred to as “playing defense collectively” — swarming to the ball and stopping opponent possession before they got into a scoring position.

“There’s more of an urgency for someone to get behind the ball when there’s a turnover,” Kintzer said.

The Tar Heels held William & Mary at zero shot attempts until there were just fewer than 23 minutes left in the second half, when they managed their only shot of the game.

Sophomore Kelsey Kolojejchick ensured UNC maintained its defensive intensity until the final whistle, even with a 5-0 lead and only a few minutes remaining in a lopsided game.

After losing the ball while attacking the Tribe defense, Kolojejchik dove toward the sideline to cut off a pass and deflect the ball out of bounds.

“We have this thing called 70 minutes of Hell,” Kolojejchick said.

“Everyone’s willing to win, and we’ll do whatever it takes, so we go all out for all 70 minutes.”

Coach Karen Shelton said her star midfielder personifies that “70 minutes of Hell” philosophy.

“I turned around to the bench and said, ‘We need more people doing that,’?” Shelton said.

“Kelsey is a competitor, and I love her passion. She has the ability to carry a team on her back.”

North Carolina entered the game having allowed just 29 shots in its six games. Following Sunday’s contest, the Tar Heels’ shot differential stands at 156 to 30.

Shelton said she used tape from Friday’s match with Old Dominion to motivate her team on defense against William & Mary.

“We showed some video from Old Dominion because they put a lot of pressure on us,” Shelton said.

“We showed some instances where we knew they were pressuring us and we weren’t pressuring them.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.