No. 10 Carolina field hockey walked out of Karen Shelton Stadium with a statement win Sunday afternoon, edging No. 2 Princeton in a shootout to close the annual Conference Crossover.
Freshman Sofia Ferri delivered the clincher on the 10th shot of the shootout, giving the Tar Heels a 2-2 start and extending North Carolina’s run of success against the Tigers to 13 straight wins dating back to 2013.
The game never opened up much in regulation. Both teams spent most of the afternoon fighting for scraps, and Carolina’s best answer to Princeton’s pressure came from sophomore goalkeeper Merritt Skubisz. She finished with five saves and kept the Heels in the fight every step of the way.
Her biggest stop came late in the first half, when Princeton’s Reese Milone slipped free on the far post after a corner and appeared to have an empty finish waiting for her. Skubisz got all the way back with a full-extension stick save to keep the game level.
Morgan O'Donnell also came up huge after halftime, clearing a Princeton shot off the goal line for her first career defensive save. The freshman has started every game so far this season for Carolina.
With regulation and overtime both ending scoreless, the matchup went to a shootout, and the Tar Heels grabbed control early. Coco Courtright and Reese Anetsberger each converted, while Skubisz denied Princeton’s first three attempts.
Princeton didn’t go away, though. The Tigers answered by converting their final two chances and seemed to have forced a tie when Ferri missed her first attempt. But a foul on Princeton’s goalkeeper gave Ferri another look, and she made it count, putting the keeper on her back and diving to finish in the bottom corner.
Carolina returns to Karen Shelton Stadium next Friday to face Old Dominion at 5 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on ACCNX.
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