Cavaliers upend top-ranked UNC field hockey team

Entering Friday’s matchup, the No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team had won seven straight games against No. 3 Virginia.

And as the clock hit zero in Henry Stadium, a streak was extended — just not for the Tar Heels.

In a game filled with missed opportunities for UNC, the Cavaliers defeated the Tar Heels 2-1 to win their ninth consecutive game. It was Virginia’s first victory against UNC since 2009 and first in Chapel Hill since 2006.

All three goals in the game were scored in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Despite the loss, UNC had eight penalty corners and outshot Virginia 17 to 11.

Coach Karen Shelton said that the multiple opportunities were a positive for the Tar Heels, even without finishing any of the penalty corners.

“We drew penalty corners today,” Shelton said. “That’s something we work on in practice. We didn’t execute, but we drew penalty corners and had a lot of shots. So there were some bright spots, but in the end, we couldn’t find a way to win.”

Senior Loren Shealy said the team could’ve executed its game plan more efficiently, but also said there is still time in the season to correct mistakes and make adjustments.

“We had a couple opportunities and couldn’t finish them,” Shealy said. “We fought, but not hard enough and we didn’t play quite smart enough. But it’s still early in the season. We can learn a lot and we will.”

Junior Emily Wold scored the lone goal — her second of the season — by slamming the ball in from the top of the circle. 

Wold said she recognizes that being the top-ranked team puts a target on UNC’s back, but added that all conference games are going to be tough and physical.

“Every game in the ACC is always a challenging one,” Wold said. “We knew going into this game that it was going to be a hard fought one. They have a lot of respect for us and we have a lot of respect for them.”

The Tar Heels are now 8-2, 2-2 ACC on the season. Virginia was UNC’s third consecutive top-10 opponent.

Shealy said that the game did have a NCAA tournament-like atmosphere and that a rematch with the Cavaliers could be in UNC’s future.

“More than likely we’ll see Virginia again in the ACC tournament in a few weeks,” Shealy said. “They had some great key players that came through for them and we need to do a better job marking up.”

“But ultimately we’ll learn a lot from this game and it’s still the middle of the season, so that’s a positive.”

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