No. 7 UVA Field Hockey Falls at No. 1 North Carolina 3-1

The No. 7 Virginia field hockey team traveled to Chapel Hill on Friday afternoon for a date with No. 1-ranked and undefeated North Carolina. The Cavaliers managed to find the back of the cage one time, but the Tar Heels' offense was too much. Erin Matson scored two goals and North Carolina defeated Virginia 3-1.

UVA nearly scored off of a penalty corner one minute into the game, but UNC goalkeeper Abigail Taylor saved Cato Geusgens' shot and then Adele Iacobucci sent her shot off the rebound wide of the cage.

The Tar Heels flexed their crisp passing to continually put pressure on the UVA defense and it didn't take long for that to produce UNC's first goal. Just over five minutes in, Sietske Bruning converted on a penalty corner to put North Carolina on the board. Six minutes later, UNC was awarded a penalty stroke and Erin Matson put her shot easily past Jet Trimborn to make it 2-0.

The Cavaliers got one back early in the second quarter. Cato Geusgens took a shot on a penalty corner and Laura Janssen slid in from the right and deflected the ball into the back of the cage to cut the deficit in half. That goal was Janssen's team-leading ninth of the season.

Laura Janssen knocks in a pass from Cato Geusgens for her 9th goal of the year
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— Virginia Field Hockey (@UVAFieldHockey) October 21, 2022

The one-goal margin did not hold for long. Just before halftime, Erin Matson scored again, this time expertly maneuvering through the Virginia defense before depositing a shot in the back of the cage for an impressive unassisted goal. In the 5th and final season of her legendary field hockey career, Erin Matson has scored 19 goals to bring her career total to 128 goals, 4th-most all-time in NCAA field hockey history and most in ACC history.

Virginia put two shots on goal in the 3rd quarter, but Abigail Taylor saved both shots to keep the lead at 3-1. Neither team scored in the second half and the 3-1 score held for the remainder of the match. UNC had a 13-11 advantage in shots and a 7-5 edge in shots on goal. Corners were even at six apiece and Abigail Taylor and Jet Trimborn made four saves each.

North Carolina remains the only undefeated team in the country with the win, while Virginia falls to 10-5 overall and 3-3 in ACC play. UVA returns home to host Kent State on Sunday at 12pm. There will be a senior day ceremony on the field after the game.

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