It's not easy being No.1.
This age-old fact was again validated Sunday afternoon as the No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team (16-2, 4-2 ACC) visited No. 17 Old Dominion (11-7, 4-1 Big East) in blustery Norfolk, Virginia.
Although at the game’s conclusion the scoreboard read 5-1 in favor of the Tar Heels, the Monarchs — winners of five games in a row — made the visitors earn every goal they scored.
In a first half where the Tar Heels penetrated the Old Dominion circle 13 times, they were unable to find the finishing touch to put them ahead. Instead, Old Dominion was able to capitalize off of a penalty corner five minutes before halftime to take a surprising 1-0 lead.
“We did not play poorly”, said coach Karen Shelton about her team in the first period. “But we did play comfortably and passively. We cannot win games unless we are opportunistic inside the circle.”
Just as they have been all season, the Tar Heels were resilient and fought back with valor and intensity. According to junior forward Emma Bozek, much of the credit for the turnaround goes to senior Loren Shealy.
“When we need inspiration, Loren is always the first voice we hear,” Bozek said. “When we hear Lauren saying, 'We’re not losing, we’re not losing' we feed off the intensity that she brings.”
In the second half, Shealy’s leadership drew immediate results, as the Tar Heels scored five unanswered goals, the first by Bozek off of a Sam Travers sweep in the 44th minute. From there, the floodgates opened.
Soon after, Bozek rocketed another goal past the Old Dominion goalkeeper, as well as an assist to junior forward Casey Di Nardo, while playing close to her home in Virginia Beach, Va.
