University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Maryland
Tar Heels Fall In ACC Title Game
November 7, 2010 | Field Hockey
Nov. 7, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The second-ranked North Carolina field hockey team lost Sunday afternoon for just the second time this season and the second time ever in an Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game, falling 5-2 to Maryland at Kentner Stadium. Terrapin junior Jemma Buckley had a hat trick for UM, which improved to 19-1 overall and claimed its ninth ACC crown.
Carolina dropped to 19-2 on the season with both losses coming to Maryland, the first by a 3-2 score in the team's regular-season matchup on Oct. 23.
"Congratulations to the University of Maryland," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "I thought both teams played hard. Obviously, we made some critical mistakes that cost us some goals. It's hard when you give up a goal as early as we did, and it was a beautiful goal that Buckley had in the opening minutes. I'm proud of our team for battling back a little bit, and the stats were relatively even, but the mistakes we made were costly.
"Maryland is awfully good. When they play as well as they did today, they're going to be very, very tough to beat."
Following the game, UNC's Kelsey Kolojejchick (who scored the gamewinner in Carolina's semifinal win over Virginia Friday), Jackie Kintzer and Caitlin Van Sickle were announced as members of the 2010 ACC All-Tournament team.
The first of Buckley's goals came just 2:54 into the action, as she deflected in a pass from senior Katie O'Donnell to put the Terps up 1-0. UNC answered less than five minutes later. After the initial shot off Carolina's first corner of the day was saved, Kelsey Kolojejchick collected the rebound and sent a ball from the right side, which sophomore Jaclyn Gaudioso Radvany deflected in from the left post.
UM answered quickly, with Buckley scoring her second goal on a penalty corner in the 11th minute of play. After her first shot was saved, she grabbed the rebound and made another attempt. This one got past Kintzer, the UNC keeper, to put the Terps up 2-1.
The Tar Heels again pulled even, on a penalty corner goal in the 26th minute. Van Sickle's direct shot on a penalty corner, assisted by Katie Ardrey and Teryn Brill, made the score 2-2. Four minutes later, Maryland scored again, as freshman Jill Witmer sent a ball across the cage from the left and O'Donnell tipped it in to make the game 3-2 at halftime.
In the second half, the Terps scored in the 46th minute to go up by two. Kintzer went out to make a stop and O'Donnell shot into the empty net to make it 4-2. With 8:30 remaining, UNC called a timeout and pulled Kintzer, going with an extra field player the rest of the way. The Terps drew two penalty corners after that, with Van Sickle making a defensive save on the first and UM scoring on the second. Buckley was credited with the goal, which bounced in off a UNC defender.
Carolina finished the game with 11 shots to Maryland's 12, and seven penalty corners to five by the Terrapins.
UNC's only other ACC championship game loss came in 1992, when Maryland won 2-1 in overtime to take the crown. Carolina is 16-2 all-time in conference championship games.
The Tar Heels now look ahead to the announcement of the NCAA tournament bracket on Tuesday evening. NCAA first-round play begins on Saturday at campus sites to be determined.
No. 1 Maryland 5, No. 2 UNC 2
Scoring:
Shots: UNC 11 (5/6); UM 12 (6/6)
Penalty corners: UNC 7 (4/3); UM 5 (2/3)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 4 (Jackie Kintzer, 4 GA, 4 S, 61:30); UM 4 (Melissa Vassalotti, 2 GA, 4 S, 70:00)
Records: UNC 19-2; Maryland 19-1
UNC starters: Jackie Kintzer, Teryn Brill, Taryn Gjurich, Katie Ardrey, Kelsey Kolojejchick, Elizabeth Stephens, Elizabeth Drazdowski, Caitlin Van Sickle, Meghan Dawson, Marta Malmberg, Jen Slocum
UNC substitutes: Katie Shanahan, Katie Plyler, Sinead Loughran, Jaclyn Gaudioso Radvany
