North Carolina
Old Dominion
No. 10 Tar Heels Topple No. 2 Old Dominion
September 21, 2002 | Field Hockey
Sept. 21, 2002
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina field hockey team pulled off its biggest win of the young season Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 2 Old Dominion at Francis E. Henry Stadium. The 10th-ranked Tar Heels, now 4-3, open Atlantic Coast Conference play on Sunday with a 1 p.m. home game against No. 11 Virginia.
Old Dominion held a statistical advantage in the first half, with six penalty corners to UNC's three and eight shots on goal to five by UNC. But with just over two minutes remaining before halftime, Carolina took the lead for good on a goal by sophomore Kelsey Keeran. Keeran, who is in her third game back after missing the start of the season with a broken jaw, took a pass from junior Alison Stewart and fed it in from the left of the goal.
Less than four minutes of playing time elapsed before the Tar Heels scored again. On UNC's first penalty corner of the second half, 1:44 into the period, senior Stephanie Fuller powered a straight shot into the goal. Senior Meredith Keller and Stewart earned the assists.
"This was such an important win for us," said UNC coach Karen Shelton, whose team is coming off a 2-1 loss at Penn State last Sunday. "We didn't play as well as we should have in the first half, but we got the goal going into halftime and I think we outplayed them in the second half.
"This will help us, as long as we don't have a letdown tomorrow. Our players know now that they can play with anyone in the country."
In the second half, UNC had six shots on goal and six penalty corners compared with five of each for ODU.
Senior goalkeeper Amy Tran made nine saves, equal to her season high, to earn the shutout. "It was important for Amy Tran to get the shutout," Shelton said. "She's the best goalkeeper in the country and she proved it today. "
Old Dominion's only previous loss had come to top-ranked Maryland, 2-0 on Sept. 8. The Lady Monarchs are now 5-2. Virginia comes into Sunday's game 4-2.
No. 10 North Carolina 2, No. 2 Old Dominion 0
Scoring: UNC - Kelsey Keeran (Alison Stewart), 1st, 32:52 into match; UNC - Stephanie Fuller (Meredith Keller, Stewart), 2nd, 36:44 into match
Shots on goal: UNC 11, ODU 13
Goalkeeper saves: UNC (Amy Tran) 9, ODU (Marybeth Freeman) 8
Defensive saves: UNC 1, ODU 0
Penalty corners: UNC 9, ODU 11
