NORFOLK, Va. — Kelsey Kolojejchick slumped and put her hands on her knees.
This wasn’t how the senior envisioned her last trip to the title game. After seeing the title slip through her team’s fingers the last two seasons, this time was supposed to be different.
A different team, a different opponent, a new strategy — but none of that mattered.
A defensive-minded Princeton team shut down the Tar Heels and delivered North Carolina its third consecutive loss in the championship game with a 3-2 win, the fourth consecutive time that the title has been decided by that score.
“If we had to play them 10 times, what would happen, I don’t know,” coach Karen Shelton said. “We were happy to play someone we hadn’t seen, but it might be different if we played them next time.”
In the opening minutes of the game, it looked like maybe this time UNC would escape the national title game with a win.
Charlotte Craddock put UNC on the board first with a goal in the 12th minute off a set play from a penalty corner. Craddock sent her signature blistering shot toward the goal. The ball sliced through the defenders and slammed against the back of the cage to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 advantage.
But that was the only shot that Craddock, who recorded three goals in the semifinal, could convert.
The forward took seven shots, but Princeton’s defense devised a strategy to stop her from scoring.
“Every single one of us had to play defense, down to the forward line,” Princeton senior Kathleen Sharkey said. “We focused on their strongest players, and Craddock is an unbelievable player. She was dominant during the entire game. But when every single person on our team is playing defense, we were able to keep her down a little bit.”
