Two overtimes weren’t enough to decide Friday’s NCAA field hockey Semifinal in Louisville between UNC and top-ranked UCONN, as the Tar Heels tied the game at 1-1 late in regulation before ultimately falling to the Huskies in a penalty shootout.

Much like in the overtime periods, neither team could break through on offense in the first half.

UCONN (22-0) struck first after the halftime break when Charlotte Veitner took advantage of a penalty corner in the 41st minute to net her 32nd goal of the season.

In a game where the Huskies’ goalie, Nina Klein, made a career-high 13 saves, Veitner’s goal could very well have gone down as the game-winner.

UNC junior Eva Van’t Hoog had other ideas, however, as she took a pass from teammate Gab Major on a penalty corner and promptly found some empty space on the right side behind Klein in goal.

The goal rewarded head coach Karen Shelton’s decision to pull goalie Amanda Hendry in favor of an extra attacker, and extended the Tar Heels’ season.

Despite recording 20 total shots in the game–compared to just six for the Huskies–the Tar Heels (18-5) were done in by spectacular goalkeeping down the stretch.

“Pulling the keeper is never a comfortable thing to do but we did it and it worked to get the tying goal and force the overtime,” Shelton said. “I was happy about that, and then I thought we controlled large portions of the overtime but couldn’t find a way to score a goal, thanks to Nina Klein – she had an outstanding performance today.”

After the two 15-minute overtime periods came and went without any scoring, the penalty shootout gave Klein yet another chance to demonstrate her prowess in goal.

UCONN put all three of its attempts past Hendry on one side, while Klein made saves on all three of UNC’s shots to ice the victory and advance the Huskies to the NCAA Championship Game.

 

Looking Forward:

The future appears bright in Chapel Hill, as UNC had only one senior–co-captain Gab Major–on its entire roster this season.

 

 

Photo via Jeffrey A. Camarati  (UNC Athletics)