Having just suffered the program’s first loss since the 2017 NCAA Tournament this past Friday against Louisville, the UNC field hockey team got back in the win column on Sunday in Durham with a 4-0 win over the Duke Blue Devils.

Erin Matson, Eva Smolenaars, Hannah Griggs and Romea Riccardo each scored for the Tar Heels (2-1), who piled up 17 shots in the game compared to only three for Duke (0-3).

UNC held a slim 1-0 lead at halftime, but managed to find the back of the net three times in the second half to take away any chance Duke had at stealing a victory.

The Tar Heels also tallied eight penalty corner attempts, while holding the Blue Devils to just one.

It was a huge turnaround performance for head coach Karen Shelton’s squad, which had fewer shots and penalty corners than Louisville in Friday’s loss.

“We looked at video on the way home and made good use of our time on the bus,” Shelton said. “We had some things to work on, we put all of that in place and played very well at Duke. I was really proud of our defensive ability to tighten up, and of the way we passed the ball on offense.”

Up Next:

The Tar Heels look to start a new winning streak this upcoming Sunday, when they host the Virginia Cavaliers.

 

Photo via Duke Athletics

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