Grace Pottebaum's 'fearless' flying leads UNC field hockey to shutout over No. 4 UVA

With about a minute left in regulation, Virginia looked to record its first shot of the game using a penalty corner opportunity. 

The North Carolina backline stepped into the goal and waited for the signal.

The whistle blew. UVA inserted to the top of the circle. Virginia’s Noa Boterman pulled back her stick.

Sophomore back Grace Pottebaum flew out of the cage, racing fearlessly to the ball and putting her body on the line. Before Boterman’s shot could move a foot, Pottebaum's stick and shoe took the brunt, deflecting the ball out of the circle. No goal.

“Flier” Pottebaum anchored the penalty corner defensive unit during a late-game push by the Cavaliers. In a top-five matchup on Friday, No. 2 North Carolina’s backline led the Tar Heels to a shutout 4-0 victory over No. 4 Virginia in Karen Shelton Stadium. Despite UVA forcing three successive penalty corner opportunities all in the last minute of the fourth quarter, UNC did not allow a single shot on goal in the entire 60 minutes of play. 

“Grace really knows how to adjust, run down the line of the ball,” head coach Erin Matson said. “She’s not afraid. She’ll take one for the team just to [not] allow goals. Again, talk about consistency and reliability, she’s someone we feel confidence in when she’s running out every single time.”

But Pottebaum wasn’t always so fearless. 

After the departure of Romea Riccardo, who used to occupy the team’s flier position, the Tar Heels looked to Pottebaum to fill in the gap. 

Pottebaum appeared in every game last year, but for varying minutes. It wasn’t until senior back Kelly Smith got hurt during the 2023 ACC Tournament that Pottebaum started making consistent appearances — in the NCAA tournament, no less. Before, she only started in three games. 

This season, she has started in every match.

With Riccardo now on staff as an assistant coach, the former flier has helped Pottebaum adjust. In practice, Riccardo will pop balls directly at the sophomore back as she sprints out of the cage so she can put herself out there and get a stick on the shot. If not her stick, then at least her body. 

Pottebaum has even enlisted the help of sophomore forward Charly Bruder, whose rocket shot helped UNC score three penalty corner goals on Friday. Bruder fires the same powerful hit at Pottebaum for her to try and defend.

“Just to be brave and put myself in front of them all is not always a fun job,” Pottebaum said. “But when you don’t get any goals that makes it all worth it.”

Even with all the reps, it was still a difficult adjustment, especially when Pottebaum served as flier in her first game. 

“I was definitely a little bit scared,” she said. “But I was like, ‘You know what. Be brave. We’ve trained for this.’”

After Virginia’s last attempt at a penalty corner, the Cavaliers received back-to-back do-overs. On the first, UVA tried another Boterman one-hit, but once again, Pottebaum sped to the top of the circle, absorbing the shot with her calves. 

On the next, Pottebaum closed in on the ball before the shot fired. This time, her presence forced Virginia to spray the shot wide and out of bounds. The entire North Carolina bench screamed Pottebaum’s name. The seconds dwindled off the clock. 

“Seeing her make those stops is so heart-warming because she works so hard for everything,” Bruder said.

It may not always be fun when she has to put her body on the line, but every time the whistle blows, Pottebaum flies out of the cage with disregard for herself. 

“The bruises will go away,” she said. “[A] no goal is worth it.”

@carolinewills03

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