North Carolina Field Hockey earns first ACC title since 2007

The North Carolina field hockey team wasn’t going to let the ACC Championship elude them again.

Not this year.

Using three straight empty-handed trips to the ACC tournament as motivation, including a loss in last season’s title game to Maryland, top-seed UNC powered its way to a 2-1 win against rival Duke at Maryland’s Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex on Sunday to claim the ACC title for the first time since 2007.

“I thought at times we’ve played the best we played all year,” coach Karen Shelton said. “There was a period of time where Duke barely touched the ball.”

North Carolina possessed the ball for large chunks of time and got the ball into Duke’s circle often in the first half.

But the Blue Devils defended stoutly around the goal in the run of play and on penalty corners.

“They were really firm defensively,” UNC forward Katie Ardrey said. “They were really aggressive, which is something I think we struggled with at the beginning.”

North Carolina managed four shots and four penalty corners in the first half, but could not find the back of the net. Senior Katelyn Falgowski, MVP of the tournament, wasn’t discouraged, though.

“It came down to just keep plugging away and eventually it will go in the goal,” Falgowski said. “We really did focus on trapping the ball and one-, two-touch passing and just capitalizing on the opportunities.”

With the game in a scoreless tie at halftime, Shelton said the Tar Heels made a conscious decision to tighten up defensively by applying pressure to Duke’s four-player midfield and intercepting the ball to keep a stranglehold on possession.

Less than four minutes into the second half, UNC found the breakthrough when Ardrey scored on a tip-in from Marta Malmberg’s drag flick from the top of the circle.

“All season the coaches have been telling me that I need to get there on the post for those drags from Marta,” Ardrey said. “I just stuck my stick out and it went in.”

In the 48th minute, Ardrey was again involved in the buildup to a goal, as UNC scored one more off a penalty corner. Elizabeth Stephens scored on a straight shot, assisted by Ardrey and Falgowski. The Tar Heels took a 2-0 lead and appeared to be cruising to victory.

But the Blue Devils, who were playing their third tournament game in four days, still had some fight left in them.

Jessica Buttinger scored in the 65th minute to cut UNC’s lead in half. Suddenly, the rejuvenated Duke squad began to create scoring opportunities as it looked for an equalizer in the game’s dying minutes.

But UNC was determined not to be denied its title.

“We collected ourselves,” Falgowski said. “With the last five minutes, we just talked about keeping the ball deep in their side of the field and keeping it wide and out of the middle. We were fortunate enough to execute and get the win.”

UNC was able to keep possession in the corners and kill the game clock, though Duke did get one last shot on goal that goalkeeper Sassi Ammer saved. Overall, UNC turned in a stifling defensive performance, preventing Duke from earning a penalty corner all game.

The win gives UNC field hockey its 17th conference title. With her assist on Stephens’ game-winner, Falgowski set the UNC career assist record with 59.

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