UNC field hockey stays at No. 1 thanks to strong defense

The No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team continued to play stingy defense while relentlessly attacking its opponents’ goals this weekend in strong wins against Virginia and James Madison.

That recipe for success — limiting the number of saves senior goalie Jackie Kintzer is asked to make and maximizing their scoring chances with lots of corners — has worked all season for the Tar Heels.

“We know that’s going to be how we win — we’re going to limit the other team and try to get penalty corners, which give us scoring opportunities,” UNC coach Karen Shelton said.

Of the 10 shots Virginia took on Saturday, only two of them materialized into real scoring chances, as North Carolina defensive players blocked a number of shots before they reached Kintzer.

Unfortunately for Kintzer, both shots snuck by her. Saturday’s game marked the first time an opponent had scored more than one goal against UNC since last year’s national championship game.

Kintzer said although the Tar Heels were able to limit Virginia’s scoring chances, “the chances they got, they took full advantage of.”

North Carolina struggled to keep possession for much of Saturday’s game.

“We were expecting that from UVa.,” Shelton said. “But we hung tough and were mature and poised under pressure, so I’m really happy with that game.”

With both Cavalier goals coming in the second half, the Tar Heels showed that poise by keeping the game’s momentum from turning completely. With less than five minutes remaining in the game, sophomore Kelsey Kolojejchick deflected a Marta Malmberg shot off a corner into the cage, putting UNC ahead for good.

“Kelsey is just a workhorse,” Shelton said. “You want your top players to play well in the big games, and she did that (Saturday).”

Despite the win, Kintzer knew there were things the team needed to improve upon heading into Sunday’s game against James Madison.

“We weren’t as tight on defense as we would’ve liked,” Kintzer said. “We needed to learn from that game.”

The rainbow that appeared in Henry Stadium during halftime of Sunday’s matchup versus James Madison seemed to symbolize a change in luck for the goalie — in the second game, Kintzer saved all three shots directed at her.

North Carolina got back to dominating possession on Sunday, keeping the pressure on James Madison’s goalie and off its own.

“We always say ‘defense first,’ that’s just a huge mentality for us,” Kolojejchick said. “It’s working, we’ve been holding a lot of opponents to one or zero goals.”

In addition to outshooting James Madison 17-3, the Tar Heels only allowed the Dukes to tally one corner while racking up nine — six of which came in the first half.

“That’s been our obvious strength all year,” Shelton said. “In limiting our opponents to these shots, we’re limiting them to poor-angle shots.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.