Four field hockey freshmen make US team

The North Carolina field hockey team is no stranger to having its name connected to athletics honors, and incoming members of this year’s team have hit the national spotlight more than a month before the season starts.

The U.S. Junior Women’s National U-19 team for 2013-14 was announced last week by USA Field Hockey — and the quartet of Shannon Johnson, Kristy Bernatchez, Julia Young and Lauren Moyer, all incoming Tar Heel freshmen, is on the list.

The squad will represent the U.S. in international play over the next few months.

Four players from the same recruiting class on a junior national team is more than what is typical for UNC, said coach Karen Shelton.

Johnson, Bernatchez, Young and Moyer are part of a nine-player recruiting class joining the roster in the fall.

“It’s one of the best (classes) ever,” Shelton said.

“They will fill some important holes that we lost to graduation.”

North Carolina field hockey has a history replete with national titles and player awards, and Shelton said the strength of the recruiting class is no surprise.

But she said she is pleased with the depth the new players will confer to an already rock-solid team, while also boosting the confidence of prospective collegiate players in UNC as an elite choice.

“What these kids say to me is, ‘That’s the future of our program,’” Shelton said.

Johnson — who had her jersey retired earlier this year at Shore Regional High School in Ocean Port, N.J. — will be assisting junior Sassi Ammer in the goal.

“She’s a little smaller than Sassi, but probably technically more sound,” Shelton said.

Johnson’s older sister Aileen plays field hockey at Duke, and Johnson said she is looking forward to the rivalry.

“We’ve always been on the same team, and this is sort of a change,” she said.

The other three junior national players will fill different roles on the field, but each will bring fleet feet to their respective positions.

Forward Moyer is a “speed demon,” while midfielder Bernatchez will lend her versatility to a difficult role, Shelton said.

“(Kristy) has the ability to take off, or to drive around the outside.”

Kristen McCann Rushing, who coached back player Young at Focus Field Hockey club in Virginia for more than four years, said Young has always been a standout athlete and academic achiever.

“UNC will challenge her more probably than any other program in the country,” she said. “(Her making the U-19 team is) reinforcement that she’s doing the right things.”

Young, who also competed in high school track, never missed a Focus practice and has the team-player attitude to be well worthy of a spot on the U-19 squad, Rushing said.

UNC’s fall sports begin practice Aug. 13, and field hockey’s first game is set for Aug. 30 against Lock Haven University.

A last-gasp defeat to Princeton in last year’s national championship game — the team’s third straight in pursuit of a title — is still fresh on many fans’ minds, but Shelton isn’t one for lingering on a loss.

With a 32nd UNC field hockey season ahead, she said she’s ready to see the rookies and veterans jointly carry the program to another year of national prominence — and she’s not looking back.

“We’re not going to worry about what happened last year, or the year before that, or the year before that,” she said.

“Our goal is simply to create habits and a culture that puts us in a position … to win every game.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.