University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Michigan
Carolina Headed For Final Four
November 13, 2011 | Field Hockey
Nov. 13, 2011
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - For the third year in a row and 16th time in program history, the North Carolina field hockey team is headed for the final four. No 1 UNC, the top seed in the NCAA Tournament field, beat No. 8 Michigan 5-1 Sunday afternoon in a second-round game at Francis E. Henry Stadium to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Friday in Louisville, Ky.
Junior Kelsey Kolojejchick scored twice and senior Elizabeth Stephens, junior Jaclyn Gaudioso Radvany and sophomore Marta Malmberg each added one for the Tar Heels, who led 5-0 before the Wolverines scored a late goal. Carolina improved to 22-1 with the win while Michigan fell to 15-7, with three of those losses coming to UNC.
"I couldn't be prouder of the entire group," said UNC coach Karen Shelton, who is in her 31st season with the program and competing in her 28th NCAA Tournament. "Everybody got a chance to play, everybody played a part in this great victory today."
UNC's first goal came in the 10th minute of play, when senior Meghan Dawson sent a pass across the mouth of the cage to Kolojejchick, who put it in from the left post. The goal was her 20th of the season and 50th of her career, and it moved her onto UNC's career top 10 lists for goals and points. Carolina's second goal was off a penalty corner in the 20th minute. Stephens scored her ninth goal of the year, with assists to Katie Ardrey and Katelyn Falgowski.
In the 32nd minute, junior Caitlin Van Sickle sent a pass to Gaudioso Radvany, who rifled a shot into the cage. The Tar Heels went up 4-0 shortly after halftime, when Kolojejchick dribbled in and lofted a shot over UM keeper Haley Jones. The fifth goal came in the 44th minute on a penalty corner shot by Malmberg, with assists again to Ardrey and Falgowski.
Michigan's goal came with 57 seconds to play in the game, on a shot by freshman Aline Fobe from just inside the circle.
"Carolina played fantastically today," Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said. "They were hitting on all cylinders. They had too much speed for us to be able to manage today.
"I was proud of our players for playing all the way to the end - we've had a nice season and I'm proud of them."
UNC finished with 16 shots to five by Michigan. The teams had five penalty corners each, with Carolina drawing four in the first half and UM four in the second.
Carolina is now 16-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels are headed for the final four for the third year in a row and fourth time in the last five years. UNC won championships in 2007 and 2009 and finished as the runner-up in 2010. Carolina has won six titles in program history: 1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2007 and 2009.
The Tar Heels will face fourth-seeded Connecticut, a 3-2 winner over Penn State Sunday, Friday at the University of Louisville's Trager Stadium. Maryland and Old Dominion will meet in the other semifinal game.
No. 1 UNC 5, No. 8 Michigan 1
Scoring: UNC - Kelsey Kolojejchick (Meghan Dawson), 9:29; UNC - Elizabeth Stephens (Katie Ardrey, Katelyn Falgowski), 19:33; UNC - Jaclyn Gaudioso Radvany (Caitlin Van Sickle), 31:37; UNC - Kolojejchick, 39:54; UNC - Marta Malmberg (Ardrey, Falgowski), 43:19; UM - Aline Fobe, 69:03
Shots: UNC 16 (12/4), UM 5 (3/2)
Penalty corners: UNC 5 (4/1), UM 5 (1/4)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 0 (Sassi Ammer, 54:28, 0 goals allowed; Caitlin Powers, 15:32, 1 goal allowed); UM 2 (Christi Barwick, 3 goals allowed, 2 saves; Haley Jones, 8:19, 2 goals allowed, 0 saves)
Defensive saves: UM - Eileen Brandes
