For the second time this season, the UNC field hockey team shut out one of the nation’s most fearsome offenses–as the Tar Heels cruised to a 4-0 victory in Louisville over the top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers, a game that was part of Friday’s ACC Tournament Semifinals.

Four different players–Eef Andriessen, Malin Evert, Meredith Sholder and Catherine Hayden–contributed to the UNC offense, while goalkeeper Amanda Hendry made a career-high 10 saves.

Hendry’s effort helped the Tar Heels win going away, despite the fact that Virginia tallied 19 shots compared to just 14 for UNC.

The win sends the Tar Heels (15-4) to the ACC Championship Game for the third consecutive year, and the 24th time in the 35-year history of the event.

Virginia (15-4), meanwhile, suffered just its second loss against a conference opponent all year–with both of those defeats coming at the hands of head coach Karen Shelton’s Tar Heel squad.

Despite coming off a hard-fought win over Wake Forest on Thursday, UNC was more than up to the challenge on Friday against a Virginia team which had earned a first-round bye.

“You can’t lose in this game,” Shelton said of the semifinal matchup. “The hard work back-to-back helps prepare us for the NCAA Tournament. So all we wanted to do was really work our tails off the entire time, and certainly we did that. To get the result is even sweeter.”

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will face the tournament hosts–the No. 3 seed Louisville Cardinals–on Sunday with the conference championship on the line. That game is set to begin at 1 p.m.

 

 

 

Photo via UNC Athletics

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