UNC field hockey tops California

Allowing two penalty corners in the final four minutes of the first half, visiting California all but handed the No. 2 North Carolina field hockey team the go-ahead goal.

Though anxious to score before the final seconds ticked off the first-half clock in Henry Stadium, the Tar Heels missed the target not once, but twice.

Missed opportunities plagued UNC (12-0, 2-0 ACC) for 59 minutes Monday afternoon, but a late game-winning goal allowed the defending national champions to beat the Golden Bears 1-0 and preserve their undefeated season.

UNC struggled to finish its shots for most of the game, but with just more than 10 minutes to go, the 20th time was the charm.

Kolojejchick saw a small opening inside the top of the circle and seized the opportunity. The Cal goalie tipped it with her stick, but the ball zipped past her for UNC’s lone goal. The score was Kolojejchick’s 12th goal of the season.

The Tar Heels outshot California (5-6, 4-0 NorPac) 10-1 before intermission, but they were unable to deliver a single shot to the back of the net. North Carolina had a 7-0 advantage in penalty corners during the game, but three missed the frame.

For the typically high-scoring Tar Heel squad, the inaccuracy was out of character. The match was only the third time this season UNC hasn’t scored in the first half.

“The more chances you have, the more likely you can maybe put the ball in,” midfielder Kelsey Kolojejchick said.

“If you send it wide, no one has a chance to get a tip on it or the goalie to rebound it in. If we can work on better accuracy on our corners, I think we’ll be better off.”

UNC came out of the gate with even more intensity in the second half, and junior back Meghan Dawson had three shots in a two-minute span.

But Dawson’s failed attempts and aggressiveness from the stingy Golden Bear defense kept UNC off the board yet again.

California’s defense forced several turnovers, and goalie Maddie Hand had 13 saves during the game, a feat that kept the Tar Heel attack on its toes.

“We have really good stick skills, our front and our midfield,” Kolojejchick said. “So with them playing really low, I think they stole a lot of our tackles, they got a lot of our possessions and then their goalie was really feisty. She kept us busy up there.”

UNC was forced to grind out a win against its unranked opponent despite the team’s dominance thus far in the season.

With 27 game shots, the Tar Heels were only able to convert one into a goal.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.