Field hockey team to take on rival Old Dominion

The specter of Old Dominion could keep Karen Shelton awake at night — but it doesn’t.

She could think about the three titles that got away — ODU having plucked a trio of championship hardware from Shelton’s North Carolina field hockey club in five NCAA finals meetings.

She could think about the 13 postseason meetings, the 106 regular-season tussles, the ever-present thorn in the side of Shelton’s decorated program.

ODU will meet UNC once again Friday night in the Tar Heels’ home opener. The Lady Monarchs will stand in the Tar Heels’ way as only a seasoned adversary can.

Shelton won’t be restless. Instead, she’ll be eager to measure her Tar Heels against a towering meter stick.

“What’s great about our rivalry is our programs have made each other better,” Shelton said after Tuesday’s practice. “We wouldn’t be where we are without them, and I could say the same for Old Dominion.”

The “back-and-forth battle,” as Shelton described it, began in her first career as UNC’s coach in 1981. Beth Anders, an accomplished field hockey player for the U.S. national team, would soon start patrolling ODU’s sidelines as coach.

Anders and Shelton would instill in their respective teams a similar hardworking, disciplined identity, one that would stock both schools with a bundle of NCAA trophies. Shelton has pocketed six titles in 32 years at UNC. Anders, who retired after the 2012 season, led ODU to nine. And with that retirement, Andrew Griffiths took over in her stead.

“Their team may have another look,” Shelton said. “But I would imagine there’s enough of Beth Anders in this team that they’re going to bring a very high level of intensity.”

No. 1 UNC will carry a spotless 4-0 record into the weekend, which also features a tilt Sunday against unranked Radford. Carolina Fever, the UNC student body’s cheering section, and the band will be in attendance Friday night. In 2012, Henry Stadium averaged the second-highest field hockey crowds in Division I.

But the Tar Heels must fix some early-season hiccups to best No. 15 ODU, even though the Lady Monarchs have dropped three of their first four games. As a result of four penalty cards throughout the game, UNC played shorthanded for about 14 minutes in its Sept. 8 win against No. 8 Iowa , a symptom of “some immaturity,” Shelton said.

“We really need to improve our communication,” said Casey Di Nardo, a sophomore forward. “We need to organize quickly because we’re struggling a lot with trying to find who goes where when something goes wrong on the field.”

Such carelessness shouldn’t be a problem Friday night. The opponent, and the rivalry predating that night’s game by 32 years, will demand the most from UNC.

“It was always your favorite game to prepare for because you had to bring it,” Shelton said of playing ODU, “and if you didn’t bring it, you were going to be embarrassed.”

Shelton and the Tar Heels likely won’t go sleepless. They know they have to answer ODU’s alarm clock.