#3 Field Hockey Knocks Off #1 North Carolina, 2-1, to Reach National Championship Game

Manu Ghigliotti scored in the second and third quarters and the Hawk defense turned in the most outstanding performance in program history as the third-ranked Saint Joseph's field hockey team downed top-ranked, top-seeded, and previously unbeaten North Carolina, 2-1, in the semifinals of the 2024 Division I Field Hockey Championship at Phyllis Ocker Field on Friday afternoon.

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With the win, the Hawks will play for the national championship on Sunday afternoon against #2 Northwestern, which topped #14 UMass, 1-0, in Friday's second semifinal.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• North Carolina (20-1) controlled the first quarter, outshooting the Hawks, 6-0, but Marith Bijkerk stood tall in the cage, stopping all three efforts that were on target.
 
• Saint Joseph's (20-3) worked its way into the game in the second quarter, with Alison Buffington forcing UNC's Abigail Taylor into a tricky save early in the frame.
 
• The Hawks maintained more offensive pressure through the middle of the quarter and it paid off. Sol Borensztein sent a ball that was intercepted by the Tar Heel defense, but Ghigliotti was on it immediately; she swiped the ball off the defender's stick, created space, and fired a reverse shot low to the far corner for the game's first goal with 7:09 to go in the first half.
 
• Julia Duffhuis had a chance to double the lead late on a corner that was stopped by Taylor to keep it a one-goal game at halftime.
 
• The Hawks were in command in the third quarter for all but the final seconds. Early in the stanza, Saint Joseph's was awarded a penalty corner; on the ensuing play, the Tar Heels were whistled for a foul to set up a second corner that led to the second goal of the day.
 
• On the corner, Celeste Smits inserted to Kate Crist, who stopped for Duffhuis. Her pass found Lily Santi, who sent a ball toward the cage that Borensztein tipped up toward the cage. Taylor made the initial stop, but the rebound fell to Ghigliotti, who punched it home for a 2-0 lead with 9:21 to go in the third.
 
• The Tar Heels would not go quietly, however, as Charly Bruder fired home a rocket on a corner with one second remaining in the third to cut the Hawk lead to 2-1.
 
• North Carolina turned up the pressure in the fourth, ripping off another six shots, but Jordan Carr made a defensive save on Bruder before Bijkerk denied UNC's Ryleigh Heck twice in the final minutes.
 
• The Hawks regained possession with a minute to play and ran the clock down to the final seconds; the Tar Heels had one last chance to move forward but couldn't get past midfield before time ran out and the Hawk bench poured onto the field in celebration.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Ghigliotti's two goals were the third and fourth NCAA Tournament goals of her career, making her Saint Joseph's all-time leader.
 
• Bijkerk finished the day with nine saves, a season- and career-high and the most by a Hawk goalkeeper since Robin Bleekemolen made nine against Duke on August 27, 2022.
 
• Friday's game marked the first time North Carolina had trailed in a game all season and ended UNC's 27-game winning streak.
 
• In an ironic twist, Ghigliotti's first goal gave UNC its first NCAA Tournament deficit since the First Round in 2022, when the Tar Heels fell behind 1-0 against Delaware; that goal was tallied by Duffhuis just 12 seconds into the contest.
 
• The Hawks will be the first Atlantic 10 team to play for a national championship since Charlotte's men's soccer team did so in 2011.
 
• Sunday's game will mark the first time any Saint Joseph's team plays for a national title in a team sport. Donna Crumety, the 1991 NCAA Triple Jump champion, is Saint Joseph's only national champion.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks will play for the title against Northwestern on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The Wildcats will play in their fourth consecutive title game; they won the title at Ocker Field in 2021 with Carr on the roster.

This news article originally appeared on sjuhawks.com.