The No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team remained undefeated after its win on Saturday against No. 11 Syracuse.
What happened?
The undefeated Tar Heels (10-0, 4-0 ACC) took on the Orange (6-4, 0-3 ACC) at the newly named Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill on Saturday, winning the matchup by a decisive score of 5-1.
A strong defensive start by both teams was interrupted midway through the first half, when forward Erin Matson scored on a deflection at the cage in the 17th minute. The physical battle on the field led to a penalty stroke goal by defender Ashley Hoffman with 7:02 remaining in the first half. The score put her at eight goals on the season.
Eight minutes into the second half, Matson scored her second goal of the game with a rebound shot after a UNC penalty corner. With the goal, the first-year now leads the team with nine on the season. With the 3-goal lead in the second half and no shots on goal by the Orange, the Tar Heels brought in backup goalie, junior Alex Halpin in the 49th minute, to try and continue the shutout.
The Tar Heels extended their lead to 4-0 when midfielder Eva van’t Hoog scored her first goal of the season with just under 20 minutes remaining in the game. Syracuse quickly answered back with a redirect goal from midcircle by forward Tess Queen, with midfielder Sarah Luby getting credit for the assist. The goal was the Orange’s first shot on the net against the Tar Heels, and ended UNC's four-game shutout streak. The Syracuse goal was also Halpin’s first allowed on the season.
North Carolina continued to dominate offensively, finishing the game with a 5-1 victory. Sophomore Bryn Boylan added the final Tar Heel goal, finishing a one-on-one against goalkeeper Borg Van Der Velde to ensure the win.
Who stood out?
After being scoreless against Virginia on Wednesday, Matson brought momentum to her team by scoring the first goal of the game, and added another one in the second half. She now has a team-high nine goals on the season.
