It appears the three-time defending national champions finally showed up.

Facing yet another Top 5 opponent, the No. 7 UNC field hockey team picked up their most impressive win of the year Friday afternoon, scorching the No. 5 Boston College Eagles 6-1 at Karen Shelton Stadium.

All six Carolina goals came from different scorers. The balanced offensive attack was also evenly spread throughout the game; UNC scored in all four quarters.

The first goal came off the stick of sophomore midfielder Katie Dixon. Dixon deflected in a shot from Cassie Sumfest on Carolina penalty corner. Another penalty corner produced Carolina’s second goal, a clinical tic-tac-toe play from Sumfest to Erin Matson to Jasmina Smolenaars in front of the cage. Jasmina is the younger sister of teammate Eva Smolenaars, and the little sibling was standing right in front of the elder on her first goal as a Tar Heel.

The Tar Heels began to flex their muscles after halftime, with some classy stick-handling by junior midfielder Paityn Wirth producing a run into the BC circle and a perfect pass to teammate Hannah Griggs, who turned it into the Eagles cage. Meredith Sholder scored on a long-range effort just minutes later to extend Carolina’s lead to 4-0.

Carolina’s fifth goal proved to be the highlight of the match, with Eva Smolenaars sending a rocket of a cross into the circle which found Matson in stride. All Matson had to do was connect stick to ball, and the score was 5-0. The strike was so clinical it left the TV commentators simply laughing.

Freshman midfielder Lisa Slinkert added her third goal of the season and Carolina’s sixth of the game in the fourth quarter. The 6-1 final moves Carolina to 1-0 in the ACC and 5-3 overall.

“We just want to keep growing each week, and this game was important for us,” UNC head coach Karen Shelton said after the game. “I’m proud that we had so many different scorers – that speaks to the versatility of our attack.”

Carolina will attempt to harness its energy from Friday in its next game, another ranked home tilt. The No. 15 Connecticut Huskies will visit Chapel Hill on Sunday at 1 p.m.

 

Featured image via Carolina Athletics

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