Despite a spirited effort from underdog Saint Joseph’s, UNC escaped with a 2-1 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Karen Shelton Stadium Friday afternoon. The Tar Heels are now through to Sunday’s second round, where they will await the winner of Iowa and Duke.
Ryleigh Heck opened the scoring late in the first half with a highlight reel goal, skating through the Hawk defense and firing in the first goal of the day. It was the 18th goal of the season for the first team All-ACC honoree.
Carolina took its 1-0 lead into halftime, but Saint Joseph’s answered with a goal in the third quarter. The score remained tied at 1-1 as the fourth quarter began, but Charly Bruder produced the game-winning goal less than three minutes in, scoring off a UNC penalty corner.
UNC would then gut out the final few minutes, holding the Hawks to just one shot on goal in their attempted comeback. Isabel Boere blocked that one shot, ensuring the Tar Heels would advance to Sunday. Carolina doubled up Saint Joseph’s on total shots, though the shots on target were much closer: six for the Tar Heels and five for the Hawks. UNC goalies Merritt Skubisz and Katie Wimmer combined to make three saves, as the pair continued to split the 60 minutes of action as they have all season.
Friday’s win was a measure of revenge for head coach Erin Matson’s program, which fell in upset fashion to Saint Joseph’s in last season’s national semifinals. UNC came into that game with an unbeaten record and – as it is this season as well – as the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed.
Carolina is now 20-1 on the season and has won 12 straight games. Duke and Iowa will face off at Karen Shelton Stadium at 2:30 p.m. Friday to decide who faces the Tar Heels Sunday. A start time for Sunday’s second-round game has yet to be announced.
Featured image via UNC Field Hockey on Twitter
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Related Stories
‹
UNC Sports: Volleyball, Field Hockey Win; Women's Soccer Falls at DukePlenty of UNC Olympic sports teams were in action Sunday, as the field hockey and volleyball teams picked up big wins while the women’s soccer team lost at Duke. In volleyball, the Tar Heels traveled down to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech and came away with their first win against the Yellow Jackets since 2017. […]
Chansky's Notebook: Let's Go, Ladies!The UNC field hockey and women's soccer programs are set to be nationally competitive once again this fall.
UNC Women's Sports Programs Win 2024-25 Capital One CupUNC has been named the winner of the 2024-25 Capital One Cup, awarded annually to the most successful women’s athletic program of the season. The winner is determined by accumulating points in a combination of NCAA championship wins and major poll finishes. Four women’s sports programs at UNC – field hockey, soccer, lacrosse and tennis […]
Michael Koh's Top 5 and Bottom 5 Moments of the 2022-23 UNC Sports SeasonWith the 2022-23 UNC sports season now in the books, it’s time to both look ahead to 2023-24 and look back on the year that was. Tar Heel teams across nearly 30 sports competed in various NCAA championships, with levels of success ranging from the top of the mountain to the depths of despair. I’m […]
UNC Women's Soccer's Season Ends in Penalty Shootout in NCAA Tournament Round of 16UNC couldn’t hold on to a 1-0 lead late in the second half Monday afternoon, and No. 2 seed TCU scored a 90th-minute equalizer before winning on a penalty shootout to end the Tar Heels’ season. Carolina had dominated possession for much of the match, holding decisive leads in both total shots and shots on […]
UNC Women's Soccer Beats No. 6 Texas Tech in Penalty Shootout, Advances to NCAA Round of 16Carolina went the distance vs. No. 6 seed Texas Tech in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night, defeating the Red Raiders in a penalty shootout after the match ended in a 1-1 draw. After a scoreless first half in which UNC controlled much of the offensive possession and outshot Texas Tech 5-1, […]
UNC Field Hockey Falls to Northwestern in Overtime in NCAA Final FourNorthwestern scored 9:23 into sudden-victory overtime to cap off a comeback win and beat UNC 4-3 at the NCAA Final Four in Durham Friday afternoon. The Wildcats hadn’t led all day, as Carolina raced out to a 2-0 lead inside 15 minutes thanks to goals from sisters Ryleigh and Kara Heck. Though Northwestern closed the […]
UNC Field Hockey Beats Duke in Overtime to Advance to Final FourSanne Hak scored the game-winning goal off a penalty corner in sudden-victory overtime against Duke to send UNC through to the Final Four Sunday at Karen Shelton Stadium. The 2-1 win is Carolina’s third against the Blue Devils this season, two of which have come in overtime. THREE TIMES DOWNING THE DEVILS!! AND WE'RE HEADED […]
UNC Women's Soccer Upsets No. 3 Tennessee in NCAA Tournament 1st RoundThe national title defense for the UNC women’s soccer program will last at least a little longer. Kate Faasse scored a pair of goals to help the Tar Heels upset No. 3 seed Tennessee in Knoxville Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The 3-1 win avenges a 2-0 UNC defeat at […]
UNC Field Hockey Escapes Saint Joseph's in NCAA Tournament 1st RoundDespite a spirited effort from underdog Saint Joseph’s, UNC escaped with a 2-1 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Karen Shelton Stadium Friday afternoon. The Tar Heels are now through to Sunday’s second round, where they will await the winner of Iowa and Duke. Won the battle. More war to come!#GoHeels […]
›
