No. 1 North Carolina 2, No. 4 Virginia 1
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Junior forward Charlotte Craddock scored the game-winner in the 65th minute of play on Friday night as top-ranked North Carolina team beat No. 4 Virginia 2-1 at the Cavaliers' Turf Field. The Tar Heels improved to 7-0, while UVa fell to 7-1.
The Tar Heels took an early lead on a goal from senior Sinead Loughran in the 20th minute of play in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams. Loughran's score, on a pass from sophomore Emma Bozek, put the Tar Heels up 1-0. Virginia tied the game just before halftime, when Riley Tata scored on an assist from Hadley Bell in the 34th minute of play.
Craddock's goal, her fourth of the season, came on a pass from sophomore Emily Wold.
UNC finished with 13 shots, nine of them in the first half, to five by Virginia. The Tar Heels had four penalty corners to UVa's two.
No. 2 Maryland 4, No. 14 Wake Forest 1
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland worked to beat No. 15 Wake Forest 4-1 on Friday night in the teamsâ Atlantic Coast Conference opener. After a tight first half, Maryland pulled away in the second to move to 7-0.
The Terps (7-0, 1-0 ACC) held Wake Forest (5-2, 0-1) without a penalty corner until the final 10 seconds of the match. The teams were practically even in shots in the first half, but Marylandâs offense outshot the Deacs 12-4 in the second.
Maryland struck first when senior Jill Witmer got her stick on sophomore Anna Dessoyeâs shot from the top of the circle to give the Terps the lead four minutes in. Wake tied it up five minutes later when Holly Brown scored off a pass from Kari Walkley.
Sophomore Katie Gerzabek broke the tie in the 25th minute when she cracked a backhanded shot off the rebound from the top right part of the circle. Maryland led 2-1 at halftime.
About five minutes into the second half, Dessoye was there to put in Ali McEvoyâs saved shot and give the Terps some distance. McEvoy finalized the score at 4-1 when she struck off a rebound on a penalty corner play with 15 minutes to play.
No. 17 Boston College 6, No. 5 Syracuse 3
NEWTON, Mass. -- Boston College earned 6-3 victory against fifth-ranked Syracuse to open Atlantic Coast Conference play on Friday afternoon at Newton Campus Field Hockey Complex. The Eagles (6-1, 1-0 ACC) scored on all six shots they took to beat a previously undefeated Orange (6-1, 0-1 ACC) team.
Down 2-1 in the first half, BC scored three goals in a span of two-and-a-half minutes to pull ahead. The victory marked the first for the Eagles against the Orange since 2009.
The Eagles answered Syracuse's opening goal in less than two minutes when junior Emma Plasteras dribbled through multiple defenders and centered the ball. SU did not clear the ball and with goalie Jess Jecko out of position, sophomore AshLeigh Sebia was able to put the ball in the net to even the game.
Syracuse regained the lead in the 16th minute as Russell tipped in Geyer's shot on another corner attempt, but the BC scoring flurry quickly followed. In the 24th minute, senior Virgynia Muma scored on her own rebound after sophomore RomĂŠe Stiekema spun through two defenders on the right side of the field and centered it. Just a minute and 20 seconds later, senior Paige Norris dribbled it into the circle and lifted it into the air on net. Freshman Brittany Sheenan tipped it past Jecko to give the Eagles the 3-2 lead. Only 24 seconds later, senior Chapin Duke controlled the ball from Plasteras and put BC up 4-2 on a scrum in front of the net. Less than two minutes later, freshman Eryn McCoy nailed a shot past Jecko on a corner with Plasteras and Norris assisting, to go up 5-2.
Before the end of the half, Russell scored her second goal of the afternoon after BC goalie Leah Settipane made two saves on a corner attempt, but could not come up with the third and Russell put the rebound back in the 33rd minute of action.
In the second half, the only score came when the Eagles were awarded a penalty stroke. Junior Sarah Hospodar tallied her first goal of the season at the 60:14 mark to put BC up 6-3. She also made a defensive save as time winded down after Settipane made an initial save on a corner shot, keeping the ball out of the net and preserving the Eagles' lead.
No. 8 Stanford 3, California 0
STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford blanked California 3-0 on Friday afternoon in the NorPac opener for both teams, picking up its sixth consecutive victory and extending its stranglehold on the rivalry series.
Alex McCawley scored twice and Kelsey Harbin added for team-leading fourth goal of the season for Stanford (6-1, 1-0 NorPac), which has registered four consecutive shutouts during its climb up the national polls.
Stanford has now won 13 of its previous 17 against California, including four in a row dating back to last year.
The Cardinal owned advantages in shots (18-1) and penalty corners (9-0). California (3-4, 0-1 NorPac) received its only shot from Nicole Wallstedt right before halftime.
No. 13 Northwestern 3, No. 9 Duke 2
DURHAM, N.C. -- Sophomore Caroline Troncelliti's goal with 8:12 remaining was the difference as No. 13 Northwestern ran its winning streak to eight with a 3-2 victory against No. 9 Duke at Jack Katz Stadium on Friday evening.
The Wildcats controlled possession through the opening minutes of the contest and the pressure paid off 10 minutes into the contest. Kelley Stump earned a pair of penalty corners for the visitors and the second resulted in Puffenberger scoring off a rebound of Dominique Masters' initial shot at the 9:45 mark, giving NU a 1-0 lead.
Similar to last year's matchup in Durham when Northwestern scored the first four goals of the match, the 'Cats didn't let up once they got the early advantage. NU notched its fifth penalty corner of the half with 14 minutes remaining and Puffenberger fired a rocket from the top of the circle that was deflected in by Nikki Parsley past Lauren Blazing to make it 2-0.
Meanwhile, Northwestern's stellar defense entered the contest ranked second in the nation with a 0.73 goals-against average while only allowing two goals during the previous six contests. The Wildcats allowed the Blue Devils to attempt only one shot in the first half, including none during the final 29 minutes of action. NU recorded 11 shots during the opening 35 minutes of play while posting a 7-1 edge in corners.
However, Duke came out of the intermission rejuvenated and trimmed its deficit in half in the first minute of the second stanza as Emmie Le Marchand's shot was saved by Maddy Carpenter, but Aileen Johnson put in the rebound.
The comeback would be completed with 11:20 remaining in regulation when Heather Morris scored off a penalty corner, making it 2-2.
Northwestern responded three minutes later, though, as Masters got free on the left side of the circle and sent the ball in front of the cage where Troncelliti fit it through the legs of Blazing, giving the Wildcats a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
