Dorrance offered
the familiar
reminder that there’s
no magic in Carolina’s dominance of
collegiate soccer —
just hard work.
“Our philosophy
isn’t horribly pro-
found; it’s just basi-
cally a work ethic,”
he said. “If you’re going to be on the field
with the Tar Heels, you’re going to put
your hard hat on and go to work. You’re
going to sprint to close down people, make
it difficult for the other team to play any
kind of game.”
The field hockey team made the most
of its 14th trip to the Final Four, winning
on senior captain Danielle Forword’s
penalty corner with 11.7 seconds left in
the title game. Maryland was undefeated
and had beaten the Heels in October —
one of only two
losses against 21
wins.
Maryland scored
to take a 2-1 lead
with 7:49 left, and
Coach Karen Shel-
ton took a risk: She
pulled goaltender
Jackie Kintzer in
favor of an extra
fielder. Three minutes later, that proved a
good decision when the Heels tied it up.
It was the second national title in three
years for the UNC team.
The men’s soccer team played unbeaten
and top-seeded Akron to a scoreless tie in
the semifinal game nearby in Cary. But
Akron won it on a 5-4 advantage in
penalty kicks. It was the Heels’ third
appearance in soccer’s Final Four, which
includes a national championship in 2001.
UNC finished the season 16-2-4.
ETHAN HYMAN/THE NEWS & OBSERVER
