UNC's field hockey team advances in NCAA tournament

The No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels played a dominating brand of field hockey this weekend and advanced to the NCAA semifinals where they will face No. 3 Virginia on Friday.

The defending national champions didn’t seem to be feeling any ill-effects from last week’s ACC Championship loss to Maryland as sophomore Jaclyn Radvany and freshman Marta Malmberg scored five of UNC’s eight goals during the weekend to propel it over Stanford and Old Dominion.

“They’ve grown tremendously but I like the fact that our team is relatively young,” Shelton said. “I think that our future is very bright with these young players.”

Against Old Dominion on Sunday, North Carolina didn’t strike until the game’s 30th minute when Radvany scored to open the floodgates en route to a 5-1 victory.

“After the first goal or two we were able to relax and get loose and goals started to come more readily,” UNC coach Karen Shelton said.

While Stanford held the Tar Heels to fewer goals on Saturday than Old Dominion, the game was just as uneven as UNC won 3-1.

The Lady Monarchs managed a goal with no time remaining to match Stanford’s offensive output and keep North Carolina from recording its twelfth shutout of the season.

The Tar Heels extended possessions inside Old Dominion’s defensive third throughout the game and capitalized on those opportunities, scoring their five goals on only 11 shots.

Radvany was incredibly active against Old Dominion as she seemingly took part in every play, diving to the turf to create opportunities for her teammates or drawing corners numerous times throughout the game. Shelton called it the best performance of the sophomore’s Tar Heel career.

Malmberg scored three goals off penalty corners as the shot-taker despite being a defensive player, an impressive feat for a freshman. Her “drag-flick,” a shot used in offensive set pieces to create goal-scoring chances, has become a potent weapon for the Tar Heels.

“My primary role is to play defense but obviously I’m looking for the moment when I can come up and help attack,” Malmberg said.

UNC’s two wins during the weekend extended its undefeated record at home to 12-0 this season. But more importantly, the win sent them to the final four on its coach’s 53rd birthday.

For the Tar Heels’ seniors, that means they will play in the final four for the third time in their four years on campus. For Radvany, a member of last year’s national championship team, that means she’ll have confidence and experience heading into this year’s tournament.

“It does give us confidence, however we do need to stick to the process and play hard, smart and together — the Carolina Way,” Radvany said. “So carry that into the final four like we did last year and I think we can go all the way. I have a lot of confidence in this team.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.