UNC field hockey looks for No. 7

With familiar opponents on the other side of the bracket, the North Carolina team will have to eliminate a team they haven’t seen this year to compete for a seventh national championship.

Today, No. 1-seeded UNC will face the No. 4-seeded University of Connecticut Huskies in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament in Louisville, Ky.

This will be the first meeting between the Tar Heels (22-1) and the Huskies (19-2) this season. Connecticut went 1-1 against ACC opponents during the regular season, losing 3-1 to then-No. 8 Boston College on Sept. 18.

Senior captain Katelyn Falgowski said the team will need to be prepared for the Huskies’ ability to launch aerial passes, a tactic used in field hockey to clear the ball or to create a breakaway on the attacking half.

The Tar Heels are 2-0 all-time against the Huskies in NCAA tournament play. Their most recent matchup occurred in 2007 when the undefeated Tar Heels beat the Huskies 4-2 in the semifinals on their way to the national championship.

After dominant offensive displays against Ohio and Michigan last weekend, UNC reclaimed its title as the nation’s best defensive team and has the nation’s most shutouts with 12.

Falgowski still thinks the team’s best performances are yet to come.

“Going into this weekend I still don’t think we’re satisfied with where we are,” she said. “I feel like we left a lot of things out on that field that we wanted to finish.”

Dawson said having Sassi Ammer behind her, a freshman goalie whose first language is not English, has made communication a bit tricky at times, but that the goals of the defense remain the same.

“For us not giving up corners and not letting teams get into our 25 or have shots on goal is something we kind of take pride in,” Dawson said.

If the Tar Heels make it beyond the Huskies, either unseeded Maryland or No. 2-seeded Old Dominion would be the last obstacle in the way of the national championship trophy making its way to Chapel Hill for the first time since 2009.

Maryland owned UNC last year as it beat the Tar Heels three times, the last in a crushing 3-2 double overtime national championship game. This year, North Carolina beat Maryland 2-1 in Chapel Hill on Oct. 22.

On the other hand, Old Dominion gave UNC its only loss this season, and while the Tar Heels evened the score by beating ODU in the final game of the regular season, the fact remains that the Monarchs are the only team to have outplayed the Tar Heels for 70 minutes.

“We had a stretch that was pretty much uninspired and I think losing to Old Dominion was an awakening,” coach Karen Shelton said. “You form, everything gets normal, and then you have some kind of crisis, and then you can really perform.”

The Tar Heels go to Louisville riding a 17-game win streak that dates back to September, and Shelton said she thinks her team will be able to keep its emotions in check as it inches closer to the pinnacle of its sport.

“I think we are a mature and veteran team that’s been there before,” Shelton said. “There’s a sense of excitement and pride in being there, but not a sense of overwhelming awe.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.