University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Wake Forest
No. 4 Tar Heels Edge Wake Forest In ACC Battle
October 4, 2008 | Field Hockey
Oct. 4, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - In a battle of top-five Atlantic Coast Conference field hockey teams, No. 4 North Carolina beat No. 3 Wake Forest 4-3 Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Henry Stadium. The host Tar Heels improved to 9-2 on the season, 2-0 in ACC play. The Demon Deacons fell to 9-2 overall and 1-2 in conference action.
The teams' first meeting of the year, Sept. 5 in Winston-Salem, was decided by penalty strokes after the game was tied following two overtime periods. Saturday's game was a typically-exciting Wake Forest-UNC matchup, with each team holding the advantage at some point in the action. "Wake Forest is such a well-respected opponent for us," Carolina coach Karen Shelton said. "I was proud of our performance today, especially with the ebb and flow - we scored first, they scored, they went ahead, we came back, we get a two goal lead, they close it to one ... We had to play really well together and we also had to maintain poise and composure late in the game. We knew they wouldn't quit. They sustained pressure, they had a final thrust and we were able to hold on for the win."
The game was scoreless for almost 20 minutes before UNC freshman Charlotte Verstraten notched the first goal of her career to put the Tar Heels up 1-0. On a counter-attack after a Wake Forest penalty corner, redshirt freshman Elizabeth Stephens sent a pass to Verstraten from the right side of the goal, and the forward from Berg En Dal, the Netherlands, shot it past Wake keeper Crystal Duffield.
The Demon Deacons tied the score at the 25:20 mark when junior Raisa Schiller sent a hard shot from the top of the circle past UNC goalkeeper Jackie Kintzer to make the score 1-1. Wake took the lead just over a minute later on a penalty corner. Senior Liz Fries scored the goal with assists by Melissa Martin and Michelle Kasold.
With 3:25 to play before halftime, Carolina's Jen Slocum scored her second goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2. The forward from Carlisle, Pa., took a pass from Stephens, whose two first-half assists were the first of her career, and tipped it in from the right side of the goal.
UNC went ahead for good in the 48th minute of play with a goal by another first-time scorer. Freshman Taryn Gjurich, a forward from Hatfield, Pa., received a pass from Verstraten in front of the goal and shot it past Duffield to put the Tar Heels up 3-2. Gjurich, who had subbed into the game along with Verstraten about 10 seconds earlier, joined Slocum in scoring Carolina goals off the bench. Along with Stephens' two assists, the Tar Heels got six of their 12 points from non-starters.
The Tar Heels scored their fourth goal at the 51:01 mark. The push-in on a penalty corner attempt went to junior Melanie Brill outside the circle and she sent it back in to junior Danielle Forword, who took a reverse-stick shot from near the top of the circle and scored her team-high 16th goal of the season.
The Demon Deacons drew back within one on a goal by junior Hilary Moore with 7:58 on the clock. Schiller passed the ball into the circle and Moore redirected it into the right side of the goal.
On the day, UNC had 15 shots to five by Wake Forest. The Tar Heels had four penalty corners and the Deacons had two.
The Tar Heels return to action Friday with an ACC game at Boston College. They'll stay in Newton, Mass., to meet Yale at B.C. on Sunday. UNC will be without three players - Elizabeth Drazdowski, Riley Foster and Jackie Kintzer - for those games. The trio was set to leave hours after the Wake Forest win to travel to Mexico City, where they'll play for the U.S. team at the Junior Pan Am Games Oct. 6-12.
No. 4 North Carolina 4, No. 3 Wake Forest 3
Scoring: UNC - Charlotte Verstraten (Elizabeth Stephens), 19:56; WFU - Raisa Schiller, 25:20; WFU - Liz Fries (Michelle Kasold, Melissa Martin), 26:28; UNC - Jen Slocum (Stephens), 31:34; UNC - Taryn Gjurich (Verstraten), 47:10; UNC - Danielle Forword (Melanie Brill), 51:01; WFU - Hilary Moore (Raisa Schiller), 62:02
Shots: UNC 15 (9/6); WFU 5 (4/1)
Penalty corners: UNC 4 (1/3); WFU 2 (2/0)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 0 (Jackie Kintzer); WFU 3 (Crystal Duffield)
Records: UNC 9-2 (2-0 ACC), WFU 9-2 (1=2 ACC)
UNC starters: Jackie Kintzer, Illse Davids, Riley Foster, Charlotte Verstraten, Kiki Norbruis, Melanie Brill, Kate Scholl, Britt van Beek, Elizabeth Drazdowski, Danielle Forword, Katelyn Falgowski
UNC substitutes: Teryn Brill, Taryn Gjurich, Elizabeth Stephens, Jen Slocum
