University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Wake Forest
No. 1 Tar Heels Close Conference Play With Win Over Wake
October 25, 2014 | Field Hockey
"I'm very proud of Carolina today," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "Our Tar Heels played a very good, controlled, ball-movement game. I'm thrilled that we were able to get a win against Wake Forest."
Carolina is now 14-2 overall with two regular season games remaining. The team's last home game is on Sunday, when UNC will host Pacific and celebrate Senior Day. Game time at Henry Stadium is 1 p.m. and five seniors - Sassi Ammer, Charlotte Craddock, Abby Frey, Loren Shealy and Samantha Travers - will be honored prior to the start.
On Saturday, after the Tar Heels warmed up in pink shirts as part of their Turn It Pink efforts in support of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC controlled much of the first half but couldn't get on the board. "I thought in the first half we dominated the game about as well as we've played, but we didn't have any results," Shelton said. "At halftime, what we talked about was a way to get through their defense. They weren't allowing us to get anything."
It was the Demon Deacons who finally managed to get on the board. Wake Forest's goal came in the 41st minute, on the team's first penalty corner of the game. Senior Anna Kozniuk took her team's first shot of the game and bounced a ball into the cage to go up 1-0. Senior Christine Conroe and junior Jess Newak assisted on the play.
UNC trailed for almost 12 minutes before drawing a penalty corner that would provide the game-tying goal. Senior Samantha Travers, the team captain, took the initial shot, and junior Emma Bozek got her stick on it in front of the cage to deflect it in for the score and a 1-1 tie. Just 33 seconds later, the Tar Heels got another opportunity when junior Casey Di Nardo sent a ball into the circle from the right side. Senior Loren Shealy dove to tip it into the left side of the cage for her fifth gamewinning goal of the year.
UNC added another goal in the 67th minute. On a penalty corner, Di Nardo deflected junior Nina Notman's shot in from the right side to put the Tar Heels up 3-1, which stood as the final score.
"I'm really pleased with the way we handled being a goal down," Shelton said. "We didn't lose our composure and we stayed true to our basic plan, which is continue to pass the ball. We were connecting very well, we just weren't scoring. To open it up and score three goals pretty quickly was satisfying."
Carolina finished with 11 shots to three by Wake Forest. The Tar Heels had four penalty corners and Wake had two.
The win put UNC in a tie for the regular season ACC title, but Virginia claimed the top seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament based on having defeated UNC this season. The Tar Heels will play as the No. 2 seed, opening in the quarterfinals on Nov. 6 at 1:30 p.m. against the No. 7 seed, host Duke.
But even as the Tar Heels looked ahead to their two remaining games and then the tournament, they continued to celebrate Saturday's success.
"We had a great Carolina blue sky today and unbelievable fan support from Carolina Fever and the UNC Pep Band," Shelton said. "Chancellor (Carol) Folt was here, and it was a great feeling all the way around. I'm proud of our Tar Heels and really excited for the way they performed today."
No. 1 UNC 3, No. 11 Wake Forest 1
Scoring: WFU - Anna Kozniuk (Christine Conroe, Jess Newak), 40:17; UNC - Emma Bozek (Samantha Travers), 52:06; UNC - Loren Shealy (Casey Di Nardo), 52:39; UNC - Di Nardo (Nina Notman), 66:17
Shots: UNC 11 (5/6), WFU 3 (0/3)
Penalty corners: UNC 4 (1/3), WFU 2 (0/2)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 0 (Shannon Johnson, 70:00, 1 goal allowed, 0 saves); WFU 4 (Valerie Dahmen, 70:00, 3 goals allowed, 4 saves)
Records: UNC 14-2 (4-2 ACC), WFU 10-6 (3-3)
UNC starters: Shannon Johnson, Loren Shealy, Kristy Bernatchez, Samantha Travers, Emily Wold, Nina Notman, Emma Bozek, Julia Young, Lauren Moyer, Casey Di Nardo, Abby Frey
