UNC defense stymies Bears' shots

The 0-0 score of North Carolina women’s field hockey lingered on the scoreboard until late in the second half of the game against California.

The undefeated Tar Heels finally netted their only goal against the Golden Bears in the 60th minute of play, which Cal never answered.

The No. 2 Tar Heels had 27 shots during the match while the defense left the Golden Bears with only two attempts the entire game.

“We had 27 shots to their two, and it gets a little nerve-racking,” sophomore midfielder Kelsey Kolojejchick said.

“So when we got one, we said, ‘Guys, let’s keep going.’”

Both of Cal’s shots were wide of the cage and posed no threat to the Tar Heels. UNC goalkeeper Jackie Kintzer had no saves in the game, not far off her season average of 0.48 goals allowed a game.

Before playing Cal, the Tar Heels took an average of 19.8 shots per game and only allowed 3.9 per contest.

Although they produced a plethora of shots, the offense could not finish its attacks with the ball in the net.

UNC head coach Karen Shelton noted that after such a high-scoring game it is common for the offense to relax its pressure.

UNC defeated Wake Forest last week 5-1. The ACC victory against the No. 9 Demon Deacons is a stark contrast to the one-goal game against unranked California.

“It’s a little bit of human nature to let down after a big win,” Shelton said.

“We played a lot of games in a short period of time, and it’s a Monday afternoon. We don’t have our normal pregame routine. It’s not an excuse but it wasn’t what we normally do.”

Although UNC’s offensive pressure waned after the Wake game, the Tar Heels’ defense held strong and even assisted in attacks.

“We’re from the back field, and you know what? If no one is doing it we are going to try everything we can,” Kolojejchick said.

Even with added effort of its defense, the Tar Heels were not satisfied with the second half in a scoreless tie.

“With all the shots we had in the first half I think we were wanting to be ahead at that point,” Kolojejchick said.

“We talked about things at halftime, and I think we need to get more shots on frame. If we can keep getting shots on the cage we will get a chance.”

UNC sophomore back Caitlin Van Sickle played the entire 70 minutes and said the Tar Heels were unprepared and unsuspecting of Cal’s immediate fervency.

“It was a high-level game, high intensity right from the get go,” Van Sickle said.

“It was hard for us to match their level of intensity.”

Through the Tar Heel’s offensive struggle to finish, they relied on the nation’s No. 1 defense in goals against average.

“We have a strong defensive unit in general,” Van Sickle said.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.