University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Radford
Carolina Tops Radford 9-3
September 21, 2008 | Field Hockey
Sept. 21, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Behind eight first-half goals, the North Carolina field hockey team defeated visiting Radford 9-3 Sunday afternoon to improve to 6-2 on the season. The No. 5 Tar Heels picked up their fifth win in a row, while Radford saw its three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 3-5.
Juniors Melanie Brill and Danielle Forword each scored twice for UNC, which is averaging 4.8 goals per game.
"In the first half, we showed some great passing combinations and we scored a lot of goals," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "I'm very proud of the way we can play. "
Forword started off the scoring with a penalty corner goal just 1:28 into the game. Seniors Kate Scholl and Britt van Beek assisted on the play. Less than five minutes later, sophomore Katelyn Falgowski got her first goal of the season, taking a pass from junior Illse Davids at the right side of the cage and firing a shot that hit just inside the left post.
The Tar Heels went up 3-0 at the 17:30 mark when van Beek got a pass from a fast-moving Forword and shot it in from the right of the goal. The fourth goal came just over a minute later from sophomore Jen Slocum, who scored her first of the season when she deflected a long ball from sophomore Casey Burns into the cage.
Radford got on the board on a penalty corner in the 21st minute of play when senior Stephanie McLamb took the pushout from Holly Lojacono and sent it past UNC goalkeeper Jackie Kintzer from the top left of the circle.
In the 24th minute, Carolina was awarded a penalty stroke after a Radford violation on a Tar Heel penalty corner opportunity. Brill sent the shot into the left side of the cage past Highlander starter Megan Stucke to put UNC up 5-1. UNC was awarded another penalty stroke with no time remaining in the half, but Stucke made the save on an attempt by freshman Charlotte Verstraten.
In the 27th minute, redshirt freshman Elizabeth Stephens got her fourth goal of the season when she collected a shot that bounced off the post and put it back for a 6-1 lead. Brill's second goal of the half came on a penalty corner in the 32nd minute, assisted by van Beek and junior Riley Foster. UNC's final goal of the half came with 2:37 to play before the break, when Forword took a pass from sophomore Elizabeth Drazdowski in front of the goal and sent it in for an 8-1 Tar Heel lead.
After 22 shots and eight goals in the first half, the Tar Heels managed just one goal on 11 second-half shots. Radford, however, made the most of its opportunities, with two goals on three second-half shots. All three of the Highlanders' goals were by McLamb and all came on penalty corners. Her first goal of the second half, in the 43rd minute, was nearly identical to her first-half score, with McLamb taking the pushout - this time from Linsey Daughtrey - and shooting from the top left of the circle. Her third goal of the day also came on a penalty corner, this one on assists from Daughtrey and stick-stopper Kay Tufts.
"I'm disappointed that we allowed three goals and they were all short-side goals," Shelton said. "Credit Radford for getting the first one - I think we should have been able to make the correction for the second two. I'm disappointed with that, but we'll learn from it and we'll grow."
UNC's final goal of the game came with 39 seconds on the scoreboard, when Drazdowski deflected in a long pass from Brill.
On the day, UNC led 33-5 in shots and 9-4 in corners. Both teams switched goalkeepers at halftime, with Radford's Stucke making six saves in the first half and Jennifer Wisniewski taking over for eight in the second.
UNC returns to action on Saturday, opening Atlantic Coast Conference play with a matchup against Duke in Durham. Game time is 1 p.m.
No. 5 North Carolina 9, Radford 3
Scoring: UNC - Danielle Forword (Kate Scholl, Britt van Beek), 1:28: UNC - Katelyn Falgowski (Illse Davids), 6:01; UNC - Van Beek (Forword), 17:30; UNC - Jen Slocum (Casey Burns), 18:40; RU - Stephanie McLamb (Holly Lojacono), 20:53; UNC - Melanie Brill (penalty stroke), 23:32; UNC - Elizabeth Stephens, 26:31; UNC - Brill (Riley Foster, van Beek), 31:11; UNC - Forword (Elizabeth Drazdowski), 32:23; RU - McLamb (Lynsey Daughtrey), 42:49; RU - McLamb (Daughtrey, Kay Tufts); UNC - Drazdowski (Brill), 69:21
Shots: UNC 33 (22/11), RU 5 (2/3)
Penalty corners: UNC 9 (5/4); RU 4 (1/3)
Saves: UNC 1 (Jackie Kintzer 1, Brianna O'Donnell 0); RU 14 (Megan Stucke 6, Jennifer Wisniewski 8)
Records: UNC 6-2, RU 3-5
UNC Starters: Illse Davids, Riley Foster, Charlotte Verstraten, Kiki Norbruis, Melanie Brill, Kate Scholl, Britt van Beek, Elizabeth Drazdowski, Danielle Forword, Katelyn Falgowski, Jackie Kintzer
UNC substitutes: Teryn Brill, Taryn Gjurich, Elizabeth Stephens, Jen Slocum, Casey Burns, Louise McNutt, Brianna O'Donnell
