Final Box
DURHAM, N.C. (theACC.com) – For the sixth consecutive year, North Carolina heads to the NCAA Field Hockey Championship wearing the Atlantic Coast Conference crown.
Freshman Ryleigh Heck scored two goals, seniors Meredith Sholder and Erin Matson led a strong supporting cast, and the top-seeded Tar Heels retained the ACC Field Hockey title by fending off third-seeded Virginia, 3-2, on a near-perfect autumn Friday afternoon at Duke’s Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium.
The ACC title is the 25th overall and sixth straight for the Tar Heels, all under the watch of veteran head coach Karen Shelton. The six consecutive ACC Field Hockey championships represent the second-longest streak in league history, trailing only UNC’s nine straight from 1983 through 1991.
As the ACC champion, the Tar Heels (17-0) earned the conference’s automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship. UNC will be making its 39th appearance in the tournament and seeks its 10th national title.
With a No. 5 RPI and a schedule ranked as one of the nation’s toughest, Virginia (13-7) should also hear its name called during Sunday’s 10 p.m. NCAA selection show. The expected berth would be the 26th for the Cavaliers. The ACC has placed multiple teams in each of the last 27 NCAA tournaments.
“I’m very proud of our Tar Heels and I want to congratulate the University of Virginia for making it close at the end,” Shelton said.. “They’re really a well-coached team, they work hard and they’re never out of a game.”
Sholder, who has played five seasons and redshirted one year (2019) due to a foot injury since arriving at UNC in 2017, was named the tournament MVP. It is the second major honor of the week for the Alburtis, Pennsylvania, native, who was also voted the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Matson, the ACC’s all-time leading scorer, has starred on each of the Tar Heels’ last five ACC Championship title teams.
UNC grabbed a 1-0 lead just less than 10 minutes into the first quarter of Friday’s match when Lisa Slinkert delivered her sixth goal of the season on a rebound after a shot off a corner was initially saved.
The Tar Heels made it 2-0 just 34 seconds prior to halftime. On a play that originated off another corner, Heck scored off a pass from classmate Sietske Bruning for her second goal of the tournament and 15th of the year.
UNC outshot the Cavaliers 9-0 in the first 30 minutes and led 5-0 on corners.
Following a scoreless third period, Virginia got on the board with 12:30 remaining in regulation as Annie McDonough took a pass from Meghen Hengerer and tapped in her third goal of the season to trim the margin 2-1.
Heck appeared to give the Tar Heels breathing room they needed when she scored her second goal of the afternoon with just 3:03 remaining on the clock. But Virginia, which stunned No. 2 seed Wake Forest with a pair of goals late in regulation and overtime of Wednesday’s semifinal, again refused to go quietly. Laura Janssen kept the Cavaliers’ hopes alive with a redirect off an initial shot by Cato Geusgens, trimming the margin to 3-2 with 1:35 left.
That closed out the scoring, however, as the Tar Heels prevented Virginia from getting another good look before time expired. UNC wound up outshooting Virginia 18-5 and led 10-3 on penalty corners.
“We watched them play against Wake Forest and we knew they were capable of coming back,” Shelton said of the Cavaliers. “So we expected it to come, we just didn’t know when. But they are a fourth-quarter team. I’m happy for our team that we held onto the win.”
Sholder, Matson, Heck and Bruning were named to the 2022 All-Tournament Team, along with Virginia’s McDonough, Adele Iacobucci and Taryn Tkachuk. Wake Forest’s Meike Lanckohr and Sky Caron were also recognized, along with Syracuse’s Quirine Comans and Jannemijn Deutman.
“The team fought hard to the end with the belief and desire they competed with to get us to the final," said Virginia head cpach Michele Madison. "There were some world-class hockey moments today ... I am looking forward to a good rest and the release of the brackets on Sunday. Thank you to Duke for hosting a great ACC tournament, and congratulations to UNC.”
2022 ACC Field Hockey Championship
Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium; Durham, N.C.
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Nov. 1
#5 Syracuse 6, #4 Boston College 2
#2 Wake Forest 1, #7 Duke 0
#3 Virginia 1, #6 Louisville 0
Semifinals
Wednesday, Nov. 2
#1 North Carolina 2, #5 Syracuse 1
#3 Virginia 3, #2 Wake Forest 2 (ot)
Championship
Friday, Nov. 4
#1 North Carolina 3, #3 Virginia 2
