The No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team extended its winning streak to 13 games with a 7-1 win at No. 19 Liberty on Sunday afternoon.
What happened?
Just as she connected on the first goal on Saturday, Catherine Hayden opened up the scoring again on Sunday afternoon in the 10th minute. The junior midfielder scored from the top of the circle. Exactly four minutes later, first-year Abby Pitcairn scored the first goal of her Tar Heel career to make it a 2-0 game.
UNC (13-0, 5-0 ACC) was unable to add a third goal before halftime and went into the break holding the two-score advantage over Liberty (9-4, 4-0 Big East). In the 43rd minute, the Tar Heels broke the ice with a goal from defender Ashley Hoffman, assisted by two players. It was Hoffman’s ninth goal of her senior season. UNC added three more goals over the next 12 minutes, including Hayden’s second goal of the game, and 12th of the year.
Less than two minutes after Hayden’s goal, midfielder Eva van’t Hoog scored her second goal of the campaign on an assist from Hoffman. In the 61st minute, midfielder Courtnie Williamson scored her only goal of the season and the second of her career to make it a 7-0 game.
Liberty added a goal in the final minute of regulation to make the score, 7-1. It was the fifth goal allowed by the Tar Heels this season.
Who stood out?
Hayden led the way with two goals and leads the team with 12 on the season. Head coach Karen Shelton has been pleased by the development of the junior midfielder, who scored eight times as a sophomore.
“She’s improving and she’s doing the things that we’ve asked and she committed to getting really fit this summer,” Shelton said. “So she reported back in much better shape, so she’s running harder, she’s become faster because of her fitness level and she has a little knack in front of the goal. So we expected her to be improved this season because she had a nice spring.”
