By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — The stakes weren’t as high as for North Carolina’s previous home field hockey match at Karen Shelton Stadium 309 days earlier, but the expectations are.

The No. 2 Tar Heels finally played their home opener Friday on a sun-drenched afternoon, dominated possession and brought consistent offensive pressure to thump No. 15 Syracuse 5–0 in a packed stadium in their ACC opener.

UNC (5–0, 1–0 ACC) showed it’s dominant enough to contend for another NCAA title with the season-high goal total after beating Northwestern 2–1 at Shelton Stadium in its previous home game on Nov. 19, 2023, for the program’s second consecutive championship and 11th overall.

“I think this team has the skill; they have the fire,” second-year UNC coach Erin Matson says of her team’s ability to win a title. “It’s all about just staying present. I think there is that element of belief there. They know we pass very well and we eliminate very well. It doesn’t mean anything if we don’t just take care of the next game, and get better a little bit the next practice, and don’t get ahead of ourselves.”

A huge reason the Tar Heels should contend for another title is junior forward Ryleigh Heck. The reigning national player of the year scored on a second-half corner and assisted on three goals to take the team points lead with 12.

Heck is having an impact on and off the field with her leadership.

“She’s grown into the leadership position and taken ownership of that, and it’s been really amazing to see a player with her skill and her talent also be able to bring her teammates along like she does,” Matson said. “They’re turning to her. She’s turning to them. She’s out there pushing the standard and the tempo and everything, and at the same time giving positive encouragement and everything.”

Carolina has the core of last season’s title team back, led by the top two scorers who both earned All-ACC honors — forwards Charly Bruder (who had a team-high six shots) and Heck — with all but two players who scored goals back. Also back are two other All-ACC picks — midfielder Sietske Brüning and back Kelly Smith.

Gone is goaltender Maddie Kahn, who made some huge saves in the NCAA championship game. But taking over as the keeper is Cary senior Abigail Taylor, who had a 1.60 GAA in five games last season, has three consecutive shutouts, and hasn’t given up a goal in 189 minutes and 32 seconds.

“She’s been a force back there, a rock back there,” Matson said of Taylor, who made four saves. “It’s been wonderful to see her confidence [and] really just excel over the years. She’s someone where now, I think she’s way confident in herself, and also her teammates feel that. So it’s radiating from her. She’s been making great decisions. She’s been trusting her gut. She holds the defense to a high standard and definitely a voice back there that cares about our defensive outing.”

The roster is bolstered by transfers, including graduate midfielder Avery Donahue, who gave UNC the lead in the eighth minute with her first goal of the season.

Donahue, who transferred after four seasons at Harvard, tapped in a score in front of the cage off of a Heck assist. Carolina ousted her Crimson team 4–2 in the Elite Eight of last season’s NCAA tournament.

The big keys to the dominant UNC effort, that led to a 13–6 shot advantage, were crisp passing and keeping the Orange (4–2, 0–1) on its heels defensively.

“We’ve been working a lot on our passing game. We obviously have seniors and fifth-year seniors who’ve been playing together for a long time, so they know each other’s tendencies,” Matson said.

Graduate forward Pleun Lammers rifled in a goal from an impossible angle well right of the cage in the 16th minute, off a Sanne Hak assist, against her former team while playing a player up. This is her second season after transferring from Syracuse.

After earning only two first-half corners, UNC scored on two in the third quarter.

After a Bruder shot, senior midfielder Jasmina Smolenaars tapped it in off a Heck assist to make it 3–0 in the 31st minute. It was her second goal in as many games after she had gone without a score for the previous 17 games.

Heck took a pass on a corner from forward Lisa Slinkert and, with her stick on the turf, shoved the ball past Orange keeper Louise Pert.

In the 53rd minute, Heck assisted on junior midfielder Molly Catchpole’s first goal of the year to make it 5–0.

This was one of only five home games this season. Matson said that is a product of the ACC reworking the schedule with the addition of Cal and Stanford. UNC had last weekend off and will also have next weekend off.

“Everyone else’s schedule was set, so it’s just kind of how the hand was dealt,” Matson said. “Obviously, bye weeks are not ideal. Only having five home games is not ideal, but we don’t have a culture where we get hung up on it and complain. It’s like, ‘let’s make the most of it.’ “

NOTES — UNC’s next five matches are on the road, starting with Sunday’s noon game at No. 12 Liberty (ESPN+). The Flames (4–2) lost 3–2 Friday at No. 19 Old Dominion. The Flames beat then-No. 4 Duke (now No. 5) at home on Sunday 1–0. … UNC travels for games at Stanford on Friday, Oct. 4, and California on Sunday, Oct. 6, in their next games after Liberty. … Carolina’s next home game isn’t until Oct. 18 against Wake Forest. … the fifth consecutive victory over Syracuse boosted UNC’s edge in the series to 19–7.

No. 2 UNC 5, No. 15 Syracuse 0

Date	Month/day	Time/ score	Opponent/event (current ranking)	Record/ TV
	August		ACC/Big Ten Challenge
30	Friday	W, 4–1	at No. 9 Michigan	1–0
	September
1	Sunday	W, 2–1	vs. No. 4 Iowa in Ann Arbor, Mich.	2–0
			ACC-Ivy League Conference Crossover Louisville, Ky.
6	Friday	W, 5–0	Penn	3–0
8	Sunday	W, 2–0	No. 18 Princeton	4–0
			——————————
20	Friday	W, 5–0	vs. No. 15 Syracuse	5–0, 1–0 ACC
22	Sunday	Noon	at No. 1`2` Liberty	ESPN3
	October
4	Friday	8 p.m. ET	at Stanford	ESPN3
6	Sunday	3 p.m. ET	at Cal	ESPN3
11	Friday	3 p.m.	at No. 12 Louisville	ESPN3
13	Sunday	Noon	at Appalachian State	ESPN3
18	Friday	6 p.m.	vs. No. 18 Wake Forest	ACCN
20	Sunday	1 p.m.	vs. No. 18 Old Dominion	ESPN3
25	Friday	5 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Virginia	ESPN3
27	Sunday	Noon	vs. No. 16 Boston College	ACCN
	November
1	Friday	6 p.m.	at No. 5 Duke	ACCN
			ACC tournament at Wake Forest
5	Tuesday	TBA	Quarterfinals	ACCN
6	Wednesday	TBA	Semfinals	ACCN
8	Semifinals	TBA	Championship	ACCN
			NCAA tournament
15	Friday	TBA	First round Campus sites
17	Sunday	TBA	Second round Campus sites
22	Friday	TBA	National semifinals Ann Arbor, Mich.
24	Sunday	TBA	Championship Ann Arbor, Mich.