University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Penn State
Tar Heels Celebrate Senior Day With OT Win
October 30, 2005 | Field Hockey
Oct. 30, 2005
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Junior Rachel Dawson scored a hat trick as the fourth-ranked North Carolina field hockey team celebrated Senior Day and closed out the regular season with a win Sunday afternoon, beating No. 6 Penn State 3-2 in overtime at Francis E. Henry Stadium. The Tar Heels, who were coming off a 5-0 loss at No. 7 Old Dominion on Saturday, improved to 13-5 on the season. Penn State, the Big Ten regular season champion, saw its 17-game winning streak snapped and is now 17-2 overall.
The team honored its two seniors, goalkeeper Katy Tran and back Naomi Weatherald, before the game, but soon after the start it was Penn State that was celebrating. The Nittany Lions scored in the 10th minute of play when Annelise Legel took a pass from Bekah Hostetler and sent a shot from the left side rolling behind Tran and into the goal. The visitors took that 1-0 lead into the halftime locker room despite the fact that Carolina had drawn six first-half penalty corners as PSU had one.
"At halftime we were playing well but we were down a goal and I let the team have it," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. " I said, `You can't lose for these two (seniors).' After halftime, I felt like they all played with heart and passion and some desire that we've been lacking and I think it was in honor of Katy and Naomi."
UNC's first goal came less than three minutes into the second half, when the Tar Heels were awarded a penalty stroke following an improper save on a penalty corner shot. Dawson sent the stroke, Carolina's second of the season, into the lower right corner of the goal to tie the game at 1-1.
The Tar Heels took over the lead quickly, scoring again just over two minutes later. On a penalty corner, Weatherald's initial shot was saved by Penn State's Megan Akstin, but Dawson gathered the short rebound and sent the ball back in for the score.
UNC held onto the 2-1 lead until late in regulation. With 5:59 on the clock, PSU's Kiersten Wood dribbled the ball in from the top of the circle and shot it past Tran to tie the game.
The overtime contest was UNC's second of the season, following a 3-2 loss to Wake Forest on Oct. 14. This time the Tar Heels got the result they wanted, and they didn't have to wait long. Just 2:18 into the seven-on-seven period, sophomore Heather Kendell sent a pass in to Dawson and she bashed a shot past Akstin for the win.
Dawson was set to depart Sunday evening to join the U.S. National Team for the 3 Nation Tournament Nov. 2-6 in Argentina. The Tar Heels will be without her for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, which starts Thursday in College Park, Md. The seedings and game schedule will be announced by the ACC on Monday.
"I'm happy that Rachel goes on such a high," Shelton said. "She goes into national team participation feeling really good about herself and the fact that she helped win this game.
"This was a great team effort - everybody played well. I thought one of the players of the game was Xan Funk - we put her up front to play a role she hasn't played all year and she handled it beautifully, made some really good things happen, earned her way into the seven-a-side and had a hand in the final goal. So I was really proud of her, but every single player that played had a bright moment. I think they feel good about themselves after feeling so low yesterday. It's great to bounce back the way we did against a very well-coached and talented Penn State team."
No. 4 UNC 3, No. 6 Penn State 2, OT
Scoring: PSU - Annelise Legel (Bekah Hostetler), 9:20; UNC - Rachel Dawson (penalty stroke) 37:37; UNC - Dawson, 40:09; PSU - Kiersten Wood, 64:01; UNC - Dawson (Heather Kendell), 72:18
Shots: UNC 21, PSU 10
Penalty corners: UNC 17, PSU 6
Goalkeeper saves: UNC (Katy Tran) 4, PSU (Megan Akstin) 9
Records: UNC 13-5, PSU 17-2
