“Instantly, I knew it was the start of a great friendship,” Wold said.
Even though they were not yet the centerpieces for UNC, a contagious chemistry was already evident. This carried off the field as they spent time together during their first year in Avery Residence Hall.
It was during that fall that Bozek, “the spacey one,” and Wold, “the funny one,” became best friends.
No matter what quirky activity was going on — from the infamous “bread story,” to trying to get Wold to judge a chocolate chip cookie contest, to just sitting around talking — the two enjoyed every minute.
“This one night, we duct-taped me to a wall, freshman year, to see if I would stay up,” Wold said. “We were successful.”
After living across from one another their first year, nights like this led Bozek and Wold to make a decision.
“Roommates?” Wold said with a smile. “Risky business.”
Bozek and Wold made their decision — packing up their things from Avery before sophomore year and moving into a house with teammates Caroline Plyler and Casey Di Nardo.
“We are all friends ... but (living together) is another level of friendship,” Plyler said. “That’s deep.”
Each member of the quartet grew closer as the seasons passed — and that growth translated into success on the field.
The Tar Heels reached the national semifinals in each of the next two seasons. On Nov. 21, 2014, Bozek scored a goal against Syracuse in the national semifinal. Wold was among the first to embrace her in celebration.
It was the last game they played together as Tar Heels.
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A new perspective
After playing together for three years — and falling just short of a title three times — Bozek and Wold were prepared to leave UNC exactly how they came in: together. The only thing missing was a championship ring.
Then, disaster struck. There would be no ring.
After her junior season, Bozek was diagnosed with a sequestered lung, forcing her to miss the entire 2015 season.
“I think that was one of the hardest parts of my injury, was to get over the fact I wasn’t graduating with the class I came in with,” Bozek said. “I love them to death.”
Without the option to play, she joined the UNC coaching staff as an undergraduate assistant. But watching from the sidelines devastated Bozek, who had led the team in goals the previous year.
It also hurt Wold to watch her typically lighthearted friend so heartbroken. After staying active all her life, Bozek could only watch the teammates she was supposed to play alongside.
“It was hard to watch us come home from practice when she couldn’t really (play),” Plyler said.
While the whole North Carolina field hockey family rallied around Bozek, it was her housemates who helped her through her roughest times.
“They knew I was suffering when I couldn’t be on the field,” Bozek said. “They could tell me it sucked when I needed to hear that and kick me in the butt when I needed that, too.”
Bozek recovered rapidly, focusing on a 2016 return. Being on the field was a shining light at the end of the tunnel.
But even this ray of hope could not change the fact that playing her senior year with her class was a broken dream.
It was on those difficult nights that Wold came to Bozek’s aid.
“Emily was so good at understanding when I needed to talk about it, and when I didn’t need to talk to anyone ...” Bozek said. “She knew better than anyone else how I was feeling at certain times. She was a shoulder to cry on, or someone to distract me ...”
“She means the world to me.”
It was talks like this that allowed both players to gain a new perspective on their friendship. Driven by Wold’s positive aura, the duo made the best of an overwhelming situation.
Late night chats on healing. Dinner table talks on the season. Understood silence on the somber truth.
Bozek would play her senior season without Wold by her side.
Together again
“There’s Yin, there,” Coach Karen Shelton says, pointing at Bozek.
“Yang? There.” A head turns to Wold, who grabs her stick and puts on a polo instead of the jersey she has worn for four years as a player.
After playing her senior season in 2015, Wold joined the UNC coaching staff as an undergraduate assistant — just as Bozek had done the year before.
“They have a chance to play together again,” Shelton said.
Bozek takes her stick and jogs out on the practice field, joking with Wold along the way.
“We always anticipated, thought we would be here together,” Wold said. “It’s funny how it worked out ... Even though (we’re) not playing together, we’re still here for the last season.”
Much of the time, Wold still longs to be back on the field. The desire to play has not left her. No one understands this better than Bozek.
“She has a good way to put things in perspective when I’m down,” Wold said. “She always has my back, for sure.”
Though their roles have reversed, the teammates and friends have been there for one another through their five years together at UNC.
“They compliment each other so well ...” Shelton said. “Those kind of friendships — those freshman friendships will last for the next 40 years, 50 years.”
Planted on a trip to England, fertilized by the lyrics of Lil Wayne and nourished through North Carolina field hockey, the bond between Emma Bozek and Emily Wold has blossomed into a beautiful friendship.
“It’s grown here tremendously, every single day,” Wold said.
A whistle blows. Practice is over.
The perfect complements walk off the field, side by side.
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