No. 4 UNC Holds Off No. 11 Princeton, 3-2, In NCAA Quarterfinals

Sunday, November 12

Charlottesville, Va.

2:00 PM

Princeton University

(12-7)

North Carolina

(18-4)

Princeton

North Carolina

Photo by: Michael Wong

No. 4 UNC Holds Off No. 11 Princeton, 3-2, In NCAA Quarterfinals

November 12, 2017 | Field Hockey

Box Score

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels held off the No. 11 Princeton Tigers, 3-2, at Turf Field on Sunday afternoon in the NCAA Quarterfinals.

The Tigers had three corners as the clock expired, but the Tar Heels blocked all four attempts and secured a trip to the NCAA Final Four in Louisville, Kentucky next weekend.

Princeton created the first scoring threat as Sophia Tornetta, along the right side of the circle, corralled a pass and rifled the ball towards the cage, but it was just out of the reach of Clara Roth.

About eight minutes later, Ryan McCarthy found Emma Street in the circle, forcing North Carolina's goalie Amanda Henry to come out, but the freshman couldn't get it past. MaryKate Neff's follow up attempt was blocked.

In the 19th minute, the Tar Heels executed a corner as Meredith Sholder's shot hit off of Eva van't Hoog's stick and went into the cage.

Grace Baylis came up with a huge stop on Catherine Hayden as the Tar Heel ripped a backhanded attempt that the sophomore goalie denied in the 30th minute. Another rebound chance was too high.

As the clock ran out in the first half, the Tigers were awarded a corner opportunity. Roth inserted to Neff, who deposited the ball behind Henry, tying the NCAA quarterfinal matchup at 1-all.

North Carolina held a 5-4 shot advantage in the first 35 minutes and had more one corner than Princeton (2-1). Baylis made two of three saves in the first stanza.

Just three minutes into the second half, North Carolina regained the lead as Eva Smolenaars drilled in a shot for her second goal of the year.

Krista Hoffman was looking for the equalizer as she had a 1v1 opportunity with a defender, streaking towards the goal, but Henry came out and knocked the ball as the clock ticked near 26 minutes.

The Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, Maddie Bacskai, retied the meeting as she knocked in a shot from McCarthy off a corner attempt with 21:40 remaining. It was Bacskai's fourth tally of the year.

This time, it was North Carolina to respond as Megan DuVernois slid one past Baylis exactly four minutes after Bacskai's goal.

Baylis did her best to keep the game within striking distance for Princeton as North Carolina's Gab Major, from the far-right circle, blasted a clear shot on her, but the goalie stood tall and flung it away in the 55th minute.

Princeton would have the three corners tries as the clock expired, but the Tigers had all four shots barred and couldn't get it one through.

With the loss, the careers of Sarah Brennan, Danielle Duseau, Rachel Park, Lexi Quirk and McCarthy came to end. The group won 43 games and went an impressive 25-3 mark in the Ivy League with three conference titles. The Class of 2018 won five NCAA Tournament games and reached the NCAA Final Four in 2016.

With an assist on the Tigers' second goal, McCarthy reached the 100-point milestone. She will graduate tied for sixth in career goals (43) and 10th in combined goals and assists (57) and points (100).

Princeton's season concludes at 12-8 overall. It's the second straight season that the Tigers have won at least 12 games and won at least one NCAA Tournament contest.