Tar Heels Advance With 3-2 Win Over Wake

Thursday, November 2

Louisville, Ky.

11:00 AM

North Carolina

(14-4)

Wake Forest (ACC Quarterfinals)

(12-7)

North Carolina

Wake Forest

Eef Andriessen and the Tar Heels beat Wake Forest 3-2 on Thursday.

Photo by: ACC

November 2, 2017 | Field Hockey

Box Score Box Score (.pdf)

UNC will take on top-seeded Virginia on Friday

By: UNC Athletic Communications

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Behind goals from three different players and a strong defensive effort down the stretch, sixth-ranked North Carolina beat No. 13 Wake Forest 3-2 Thursday in the first round of the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship, played at Louisville's Trager Stadium.

UNC, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, improved to 14-4 win the win, which earned the Tar Heels a spot in the tournament semifinals on Friday. Carolina will face top-seeded Virginia at noon. Wake Forest, the No. 4 seed, fell to 12-7.

"It wasn't necessarily the best-played game, but at this point in time we'll take it," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "We played a tough Wake Forest team. Both teams played as hard as they possibly could and we're fortunate to come out on the good side. I'm proud of our Tar Heels."

UNC's first goal came in the fifth minute of play, on the first penalty corner of the day. The on-target shot by junior Ashley Hoffman, who was announced this week as the 2017 ACC Defensive Player of the year, gave the Tar Heels a lead they'd hold on to for most of the half. Hoffman's team-high 10th goal of the season, which ricocheted in off the left post, was assisted by senior Gab Major on the insert and freshman Cassie Sumfest on the stick stop.

Carolina led until the final minute of the half. As the period wound down, Wake Forest drew a series of four consecutive penalty corners and finally scored on the fourth to make it 1-1 at halftime. Wake's Anne van Hoof had the tying goal on a direct hit, assisted by Megan Anderson and Meghan Murphy.

The Tar Heels pulled ahead for good midway through the second half. In the 47th minute of play, sophomore Feline Guenther carried the ball into the circle and shot from the right side. Her ball deflected off a Wake Forest player and into the cage to put UNC up 2-1.

Ten minutes later, UNC made it a two-goal advantage. Guenther sent a pass into the circle from the right side. In a crowd of players in front of the cage, sophomore Marissa Creatore got her stick on the ball near the right post and sent it past Wake keeper Isla Bint for a 3-1 Carolina lead.

In the 65th minute of play, the Demon Deacons scored on another penalty corner to draw within a goal at 3-2, but the Tar Heel defense held on for the win. With just under four minutes remaining, Wake Forest was awarded a corner opportunity, but UNC challenged the call. After a video review, the officials agreed that the corner should not have been called and waived it off. Shelton credited Sumfest, a freshman back who had both an assist and a defensive save in the win, with calling for the video referral in that instance, which proved to be key for the Tar Heels down the stretch.

"We had to hold on and fortunately we were able to," Shelton said. "I do think we showed some poise and composure – Wake was pulling out all the stops to try and get the equalizer and we maintained possession at key times and were able to close the game out."

UNC now faces top-seeded Virginia, which earned a first-round bye. The two face off in the first semifinal game on Friday at noon, less than 24 hours after the Tar Heels wrapped up the win over Wake.

"That was a hard battle and now we have to turn it around," Shelton said as her players went through their cool-down nearby. "We're grateful to earn that second game and get the back-to-back game experience in the ACC Tournament. Whether we win or lose tomorrow we're better prepared for the NCAA Tournament, and that's the beauty of the ACC. We're going to give it our best and we're going to try and beat Virginia. We know how good they are and we know they have a bit of a revenge factor, but we're just going to do what we do and try our hardest."

The UNC-UVa matchup is a repeat of last year's ACC title game, which Virginia won 4-2 to claim its first-ever conference crown. In the regular season matchup earlier this season, Carolina won 4-0 in Charlottesville, Va.

No. 6 UNC 3, No. 13 Wake Forest 2
Scoring: UNC – Ashley Hoffman (Gab Major, Cassie Sumfest), 4:54; WFU – Anne van Hoof (Megan Anderson, Meghan Murphy), 34:57; UNC – Feline Guenther, 46:39; UNC – Marissa Creatore (Catherine Hayden), 56:53; WFU – Jule Grashoff (Karlee Spirit, Megan Anderson), 64:30
Shots: UNC 14 (4/10), WFU 7 (4/3)
Penalty corners: UNC 3 (2/1), WFU 6 (4/2)
Goalkeeper saves: UNC 0 (Amanda Hendry, 70:00, 2 goals allowed, 0 saves); WFU 7 (Isla Bint, 70:00, 3 goals allowed, 7 saves)
Defensive saves: UNC 1 (Cassie Sumfest)
Records: UNC 14-4, WFU 12-7)

UNC starters: Amanda Hendry, Eef Andriessen, Cassie Sumfest, Ashley Hoffman, Feline Guenther, Malin Evert, Morgan Goetz, Eva Smolenaars, Eva van't Hoog, Gab Major, Marissa Creatore
UNC subs: Meredith Sholder, Bryn Boylan, Catherine Hayden, Megan DuVernois