The UNC field hockey team captured its 24th ACC Championship in 28 tries Sunday afternoon, topping the No. 5 seed Virginia Cavaliers 1-0 in Syracuse, N.Y.
Carolina, the No. 3 seed in the field, won the title with head coach Karen Shelton back on the sidelines. Shelton had been banned from coaching the ACC semifinal victory over Syracuse due to a red card assessed to the UNC bench in the quarterfinals.
As the final score suggests, the game was a defensive struggle throughout. The two teams combined for just five shots in a scoreless first half. Carolina didn’t get off a single shot in the first quarter, but freshman goalie Abigail Taylor made two saves in the period to keep Virginia off the scoreboard.
The Tar Heels finally struck in the third quarter, capitalizing on a penalty corner for the game’s only goal. Once again, it was ACC Offensive Player of the Year Erin Matson who provided the critical blow, scoring on a deflected shot on the corner. Matson has now scored 14 goals in her last six games played. Paityn Wirth and Madison Orobono picked up assists on the play.
In a concerted defensive effort, UNC took only one shot in the remaining 26 minutes of game time. Even with the Cavaliers going all-in on offense during the fourth quarter, Carolina still didn’t allow a shot to reach Taylor, and no shots at all after Virginia pulled their goalie with four minutes to go. As a team, the Tar Heels only allowed five shots in total to a Cavaliers team which averaged more than 16 shots per game this season.
The win is Carolina’s fourth in a row after dropping two of three games which Matson missed due to injury. Two of those wins have come against Virginia. Now 13-6, UNC is guaranteed a bid into the NCAA Tournament as conference tournament champions. The tournament field will be announced Sunday night at 10 p.m.
Featured image via Atlantic Coast Conference
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