The No. 1 North Carolina field hockey team won its 23rd game of the season and the 2018 NCAA Championship on Sunday by defeating No. 2 Maryland, 2-0. It is the Tar Heels' first national title since 2009, when they also defeated the Terrapins.
UNC’s matchup with Maryland was close throughout the first half. Junior forward Megan DuVernois scored first in the 21st minute, when she shot the ball into the net off a pass from sophomore forward Meredith Sholder. The goal gave the Tar Heels an early 1-0 lead.
“I felt ecstatic, but I was also thinking that this is early in the game, there is a still a lot to play," DuVernois said. "We have to keep going, pushing, and keep trying to score because we were not going to be able to let up at all.”
With less than five minutes left in the first half, first-year forward Erin Matson joined in, scoring off her own rebound, and doubled her team’s lead.
“I saw the goalie come out so I was thinking to pull right,” said Matson. “She did a very good job and I give credit to her for getting her knee down so I could not put it through her, and then it came back to me. I knew I had to get it in the air. There was another girl in the cage and I just put it on cage in the air and it was in.”
The Tar Heels led the Terrapins, 2-0, at the half. Before Sunday, UNC was 20-0 when leading at halftime. After finishing the regular season with an undefeated record, winning the ACC Championship, and earning a spot to compete in their third NCAA title game in four years, only 35 minutes separated UNC from earning its ultimate goal, a National Championship.
In the second half, Maryland kept the pressure on North Carolina, and forced UNC to play strong defense. In the 47th minute, the Terrapins were awarded a penalty corner, their third of the second half. Off that penalty corner, the Terrapins shot the ball but UNC sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Hendry managed to kick it away.
In the 58th minute, the Tar Heels were awarded a penalty stroke after Maryland blocked a shot with no goalie in the cage. Matson took the penalty stroke but her shot went wide, hitting off the goal post.
In the final four minutes, desperate to score, Maryland pulled its goalie from the game. Although the Tar Heels were unable to score in the second half, their defense, which has been dominant all season long, kept the Terrapin attack at bay and secured the victory, 2-0.
