Two first quarter goals from junior forward Erin Matson lifted the North Carolina field hockey team (12-1, 4-1 ACC) to a 2-0 win over Wake Forest (4-9, 1-1 ACC) in the second game of the spring season.
What happened?
The Demon Deacons started with high pressure on the Tar Heels, but the UNC defense held them off successfully. Matson scored seven minutes into the first quarter off an assist from first-year midfielder Kiersten Thomassey to give North Carolina a 1-0 lead.
Wake Forest was awarded a penalty corner with five minutes left in the first quarter, but UNC senior goalkeeper Amanda Hendry recorded a save. UNC then jumped into its counter attack, which allowed Matson to score her second goal of the day.
“We were very opportunistic and very dangerous and fast on the counter attack,” head coach Karen Shelton said. “We made them pay.”
Matson had another shot in the second quarter that went wide, and neither team could score again before halftime.
Three minutes into the third quarter, sophomore midfielder Paityn Wirth had a wide shot. Later in the quarter, Wake Forest was set to take another penalty corner, but the call was overturned. First-year Katie Dixon had a shot with four minutes left that was saved by Wake Forest goalkeeper Tori Glaister.
In the fourth quarter, Matson recorded another two shots early, one that was saved by Glaister. North Carolina then scored off a penalty corner, but the shot was ruled too high. North Carolina had shots from four different players in the quarter, but none could find the back of the cage.
The Tar Heels had another penalty corner with five minutes left in the game, but Thomassey’s shot was blocked. Wake Forest had one more missed shot attempt in the final minute before North Carolina preserved the shutout victory.
