Tribe Ends No. 1 UNC’s Shutout Streak

Kim Hedley and Jes Kacerek scored in the second half for the Tribe.

10/12/07 9:30PM

Williamsburg - The William and Mary field hockey team turned in a spirited effort against the nation’s top-ranked team in North Carolina, before falling 4-2 on Friday afternoon. The Tribe ended a Tar Heel shutout streak of nine games with its pair of second-half tallies. UNC entered the game on a 630-minute shutout streak, dating back to Sept. 8. Included in the Tar Heels shutout streak were five clean-sheet wins over nationally ranked foes. With the win, UNC improved to 15-0 on the year, while W&M fell to 6-8.

Senior goalkeeper Gwen Hunter kept the Tar Heels off the board in the early going. Five minutes into the game, the Tribe goalkeeper made a pair of stops to keep the score at 0-0. The first chance for UNC came off a long cross from the right side and deflected to Illse Davids on the right side of the circle. Her attempt was stopped by Hunter, but the Tar Heels earned a penalty corner. On the corner, Melanie Brill sent a hard stop from the top of the circle, but Hunter made the sprawling block.

W&M’s first threat on the Tar Heel goal came in the seventh minute of play. Senior forward Kim Hedley had some nice stick work in the middle of the field to find sophomore Sarah Louie. Louie could not muster a shot out of the chance from just inside the area, but did earn the Tribe’s first penalty corner of the game. W&M could not find the combination to cash in the penalty chance though.

North Carolina got on the board with the lone tally of the first half in the ninth minute of play. Davids intercepted a pass in the midfield and race down the middle of the field on a breakaway. She carried into the area and finished the chance into the top right side of the goal.

It looked as thought UNC would make it 2-0 in the 23rd minute of play, but Hunter made a nice play to keep the W&M deficit at 1-0. A long pass from the right side found Alli Tanner in close, but Hunter did well to block the ball wide of the cage as Tanner sent a shot toward the right post.

Carolina scored three goals over the opening 15 minutes of the second stanza to expand its lead to 4-0. Just under two minutes into the second half, Elizabeth Drazdowski pushed the Tar Heel lead to 2-0 with her 10th goal of the season. Danielle Forword sent a pass up the left flank to Drazdowski, who carried the ball into the area, before finishing into the left side of the boards.

In the 42nd minute of play, the Tar Heels scored off a penalty corner as Melanie Brill saw her hard shot from the top of the circle deflected into the cage by a Tribe defender. Riley Foster was credited with the assist on the play. In the 50th minute of play, Forword scored a goal of her own with some good individual moves. The Tar Heel forward juked a pair of defenders before backhanding a shot into the cage for her sixth goal of the season.

The Tribe got on the board less than two minutes later, scoring off its first series of shots on goal. Off a penalty corner, senior Laura Kastelic had her initial shot from the top of the circle stopped by UNC goalkeeper Brianna O’Donnell. Senior Kim Hedley jumped on the rebound, but her first attempt was block by O’Donnell. Hedley would not be denied a second time, grabbing her own rebound and finishing into the left side of the boards for her fifth goal of the season.

W&M nearly found its second goal of the game with three minutes remaining. Off another penalty corner, the ball made its way around to the right side to senior midfielder Jes Kacerek. The Washington, N.J., native swept the ball toward the center of the cage. Redshirt freshman forward Alexis Gerber redirected the ball in front, but the shot went just wide of the right post.

The College added its second goal with no time on the clock. The Tribe earned a penalty corner in the closing seconds. On the chance, Kastelic passed back to Kacerek along ride side of the circle. The senior co-captain swept the ball into the right side of the boards to cap the contest. It was Kacerek’s third goal of the season and Kastelic’s team-leading fifth assist.

The Tribe scored a pair of goals against the nation’s stingiest defense. North Carolina entered the game ranked No. 1 nationally in goals against average at 0.50 and shutouts percentage, having blanked nine of its 14 opponents on the year.

The Tribe will return to action when it wraps up a four-match homestand against Appalachian State on Sunday, Oct. 14. The match is slated for a noon start at Busch Field.

Box Score