BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University field hockey recorded three defensive saves in a 4-1 defeat to No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday afternoon.
The Mountaineers (6-2, 0-1 MAC) made three defensive saves in the first half to take just a one-goal deficit into the second half. Junior
Annette Jarosz notched the first two App State defensive saves, raising her career record to 15 stops. Sophomore
Brenna Schoenbachler made App State's third defensive save, helping App State preserve a 2-1 scoreline entering the second half.
After allowing a goal just two minutes into the game, junior
Veerle Van Heertum responded with a blast off a penalty corner. Sophomore
Friederike Stegen inserted the ball before junior
Chloe Bell used an effective stick stop so Van Heertum could fire home her third goal of the weekend. Van Heertum missed just wide on a penalty corner attempt less than a minute before her goal knotted the game at 1-1.
"This is really important for our development," head coach
Meghan Dawson said. "Carolina is a really good team, and defensively we did a lot better than Friday, especially in the first half. We got low to the ground and were intercepting and reading plays well."
The Tar Heels (7-0), who extended their winning streak to 30-straight games on Sunday, used a goal in the 23rd minute to take the lead for good. UNC would add two more goals in the third period to extend its lead to 4-1.
Senior goalkeeper
Rachel Gaines made five saves in the fourth period to keep the Tar Heels off the board in the final frame. With 20 saves between two games this weekend, Gaines reached 400 saves in an App State uniform, moving into sixth place in App State history for career saves.
Freshman
Addie Clark also made her first appearance in net for App State with just over two minutes remaining in regulation.
App State returns to action when they face Mid-American Conference foe Miami on Friday. Friday's home matchup against the RedHawks is set to start at 3 p.m.
