The North Carolina field hockey team seemed to mirror Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this weekend as it alternated between moments of excellence and periods of lackluster performance on a half by half basis.
One was a motivated team, driven to play every second of the game with the utmost intensity.
The other was an unenthused squad, content with scraping out two wins but failing to reach its potential.
"At times, we're brilliant - we're moving the ball really well and we're creating dangerous opportunities - and then we fall into this phase of mediocrity," said Coach Karen Shelton.
"So what we're trying to do is play well for 70 minutes. We just haven't been able to do it all year."
Shelton said she saw two very different teams at two different times during each of the two games.
The first team, a team determined to attack the opposing squad, combined for 25 of its 38 shots and six of its seven goals between the first half of its game against Stanford and the second half of its game against No. 17 Boston College.
"We came out a little slow and flat, not desperate enough in the first half to score," said junior midfielder Rachel Dawson about the B.C. game. "But I think we brought it in the second half."
The second team, a team more average in comparison, found itself in a less desirable position, forced to defend its zone and all six of the combined shot attempts by the Cardinals and the Eagles this weekend.
