Central York grad to play for national title

It has been anything but a typical season for the University of North Carolina field hockey team.

The Tar Heels typically don't lose, but the losses piled up in 2016. UNC might lose once in any given season. Maybe twice. But five times?

"It humbled this team," said Lauren Moyer, who graduated from Central York High School in 2013, "and maybe this was what this team needed. We're all so used to so much success."

It's hard to argue with her, since after all those losses the Tar Heels are back in the national championship game. Moyer and North Carolina (20-5) plays Delaware (22-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Norfolk, Virginia for a chance to bring home Carolina's first national title since 2009. The game will be livestreamed on NCAA.com. And perhaps, just maybe, this atypical North Carolina season is just what the Tar Heels needed to put them back on top.

It's difficult to find another program that has experienced as much heartache in big games as North Carolina.

This year marks the eighth consecutive Final Four appearance for the Tar Heels, but the team hasn't won the national title since ... well, eight years ago. The near-misses in the Final Four include a loss in the title game a year ago, and a shootout loss to UConn in Moyer's freshman year.

"Now in my fourth Final Four and after coming up short so many times, especially last year in the championship game, it stings," Moyer said. "but it has driven us. This entire team knows how it feels getting to that point and just coming up short.

"Even though we haven’t had the typical Carolina journey … we're really close."

All that remains for North Carolina is earning a victory in the biggest game of the year. Or in Moyer's case, winning the biggest game of her career.

"This means everything," Moyer said. "We got as many practices as we could, we played the maximum number of games, we weren't cut short."

• • •

Take about a million steps back.

Moyer used to be a soccer player. That used to be her sport.

Then in her sophomore year of high school, she took a chance. She wanted to explore playing club field hockey, she thought that might be the sport she would play in college. And even though she felt "behind the curve," even though she felt like she was the only club player who had not played with the U.S. Futures team since age 10, she stuck by her decision.

"The switch for me was super important," Moyer said.

A varsity player as a freshman, she became a star by the end of her high school career.

"She always had speed, and that's important," Central York field hockey coach Lori Livingston said. "I think she developed a lot of her skills in club ... once she began playing year-round.

"She was quiet and always tried to be a great teammate. ... I knew she had these great skills, but we didn't always see them because, I think, she wanted to fit in with her (high school) teammates. But we did see those skills in some big games."

Moyer became the first YAIAA player to earn a spot on the Harrow Sports/NFHCA All-Region team, one of 160 players honored nationwide in 2012. She earned all-state honors, the only YAIAA player to do so in the large-school classification that year. She earned a spot on the U.S. Field Hockey's Futures Elite List, and she joined the U.S. Junior National Indoor team.

And when she visited North Carolina, a school she first learned about because of its outstanding women's soccer program, everything clicked.

"When I was on my visit I instantly felt at home," Moyer said. "The staff was amazing, the team was amazing and the school in general was amazing."

Soon enough she learned about the Tar Heels history and prestige in field hockey, where coach Karen Shelton has won six NCAA titles and more than 600 games.

• • •

Now fast forward to Moyer's final two seasons with the Tar Heels. Though she would never say it, her junior and senior seasons are a prime example of what Moyer means when she says this is "just an unselfish team."

When a teammate went down with an injury last season, Moyer switched from forward to left midfielder.

"There was a transition period," Moyer said, "just a learning curve where I was again getting used to defense and attack."

Finally feeling comfortable at midfield, she expected to stay there. Then Shelton moved her back to forward.

What happened next was remarkable. Moyer had the year of her life.

“Lauren has become an emotional leader,” Shelton told a reporter for the York Daily Record earlier this season. “She’s leading in two ways — by example and as a vocal leader.”

She leads the team in goals (23), points (49) and shots (82). She's also tied for the team lead in game-winning goals (four), but not one has been bigger than the sudden-death overtime goal she scored against UConn in the Final Four to send the Tar Heels to another title game.

She moved into one of those scoring positions inside the circle, where a UNC teammate could feed her the ball even if she had her eyes closed — Moyer said. So when the ball rolled toward her, Moyer stayed in the moment: She tried to focus only on getting down and keeping her stick down. She would explain that the feeling of "redemption," and the fact North Carolina had just defeated a program that ended their season as college freshmen, would only hit them moments later.

In that moment when Moyer scored and the Tar Heels advanced, it was just pure joy.

"You’ve seen the pictures, after I score I can’t hide my emotions during the game," Moyer said.

Championship Sunday
Field hockey

NCAA Division I championship game
North Carolina vs. Delaware in Norfolk, Va.
York/Adams player: Lauren Moyer (Central York/UNC)

NCAA Division II championship game
Shippensburg University vs. LIU Post in Easton, Mass.
Local players: Brooke Sheibley (Northern/Ship), Rajchel Moore (Bermudian/Ship), Lena Witthoff (Biglerville/Ship), Megan Green (Susquehannock/Ship)

NCAA Division III championship game
Messiah College vs. Tufts University in Geneva, N.Y.
Local players: Annalise Armstrong (Northern/Messiah)