Less than 24 hours removed from a 5-1 victory over Virginia on Sunday at Karen Shelton Stadium, the UNC field hockey team defeated the Cavaliers again on Monday by a score of 2-1.
Eva Smolenaars scored just under four minutes into the game to give UNC (4-1, 2-1 ACC) the early lead, which it held on to until Virginia (3-3, 2-1 ACC) tied things up when Annaloes Knol scored right after halftime.
The deciding goal came courtesy of Meredith Sholder in the fourth quarter, a score that was assisted by All-American Erin Matson.
Overall, the Tar Heels tallied 15 shots in the game while holding Virginia to just four.
Another interesting note is that Sunday’s game counted toward the ACC standings, but this game was considered a non-conference affair thanks to the strange scheduling dictated by COVID-19.
“We credit to Virginia for making some really good adjustments from yesterday and making it tough on us today,” UNC head coach Karen Shelton said afterwards. “It was a good, hard-fought game. I thought we left some chances out there, but their goalkeeper also did an outstanding job – we put shots on target and she stopped them.
“I thought once we got the lead for good we handled it well down the stretch – that was important for our group,” she added. “We faced some things we haven’t seen yet this year, so that was really valuable. Overall I’m delighted with the win.”
Up Next:
UNC returns to action on Friday, when it hosts Syracuse at 6 p.m. for a game scheduled to air on the ACC Network.
Photo via Dakota Moyer
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