Marissa Creatore found the ball after it rebounded off Virginia goalkeeper Carrera Lucas and shot it into the back of the net. It was the fifth minute and the Tar Heels had just taken an early 1-0 lead over a team they upset this time last year.
“We always have a goal to get some kind of outcome in the first two minutes,” Creatore, a junior forward, said. “That does not always happen but just getting something in the first five really changes the entire momentum of the game.”
On the way to a 5-1 victory over the No. 16 Cavaliers, the No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team's offense shined in the ACC Championship semifinals, which fell on a cold and cloudy day in Chapel Hill. After an undefeated (17-0) regular season, the matchup opened up postseason play for UNC on Friday afternoon.
Just over five minutes after getting on the scoreboard, first-year Erin Matson shot the ball from mid circle which landed in the back of the net to give the Tar Heels a two-goal lead.
UNC stepped on the gas early, putting some space between the two teams with that goal from Matson, who was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Year earlier this week.
“She is an exciting player to work with,” head coach Karen Shelton said. “In tournament time, big time players make big time plays and I think we saw that in her and that she is capable of doing that at any time.”
Senior Malin Evert joined in and scored a goal of her own in the 12th minute off a penalty corner to pile on to the scoring.
In the first half, the Tar Heels had 13 shots while the Cavaliers had one shot. With a 3-0 lead at halftime, Shelton wanted her team to continue to press.
“We just say never let down the entire game,” Creatore said. “(Shelton) says we scored three goals in 10 minutes and they could do the exact same thing. So we never want to let down, never want to stop. We want to keep ourselves motivated throughout all 70 minutes.”
