University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Boston College
UNC Advances To ACC Championship Game For 22nd Straight Year
November 7, 2009 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 7, 2009
CARY, N.C. - It took nearly 103 minutes of play, but third-seeded North Carolina outlasted second-seeded Boston College, 1-0 in double overtime Friday night, to advance to the ACC Women's Soccer Championship Game for the 22nd time straight time.
Carolina's win over the Eagles was a hard-fought one and was decided on an own goal in the 103rd minute. A chilly crowd of 1,967 fans stayed until the bitter end at WakeMed Soccer Park as the nationally No. 4-ranked Tar Heels improved to 16-3-1 this season while the No. 6-ranked Eagles fell to 15-3-2 with two of their losses having come at the hands of North Carolina.
Carolina will now play for the ACC Championship on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Florida State, the tournament's top seed and the nation's No. 3-ranked team. The Seminoles advanced to the final by beating fourth-seeded Virginia Tech 2-0 in Friday's first semifinal match. Sunday's match will be televised live on FS South, FS Florida, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (CSN+) and NESN. Mike Hogewood will call the play-by-play with Jenn Hildreth handling the color commentary.
The fourth-ranked Tar Heels (16-3-1) secured the victory when a cross by senior forward Casey Nogueira deflected off Eagle defender Alyssa Pember for an own goal 2:14 into the second overtime period. Nogueira had gained possession on the left side of the pitch and dribbled deep into the left corner. Nearly reaching the end line, Nogueira sent a low, hard cross that skimmed along the ground. UNC junior forward Jessica McDonald was standing alone, unmarked at the four-yard line in front of BC goalie Jilian Mastroianni.
But before the ball could get to McDonald for the game-winning putaway, BC defender Alyssa Pember, who had played all 102 minutes, tried to clear the ball out of danger. But to her misfortune Pember's clearing effort was misplayed and the ball quickly changed direction and squirted over the goal line before Mastroianni could intervene.
With the win, UNC advances to the ACC Women's Soccer Tournament championship game for the 22nd straight year. The Tar Heels have made every tournament final ever played and is now 21-0-1 in ACC semifinal games, including a tie with Virginia in 2007 when UNC advanced to the final on penalty kicks.
UNC outshot No. 6 Boston College, 22-5, including a 4-0 advantage after regulation. BC goalkeeper Jillian Mastroianni, however, showed the skills that earned her first-team All-ACC honors as she recorded a career-high 11 saves, including four in overtime, to keep the Eagles (15-3-2) in the game. Many of UNC's best opportunities to score were on shots that did not hit the frame but Mastroianni was there for the other 11. Many were struck in her direction but Casey Nogueira, Tobin Heath and Maria Lubrano all hit shots with some extreme pace that required difficult saves.
Meanwhile, the UNC defense held strong for the fourth straight game as Carolina recorded its fourth straight shutout win since falling 1-0 at Miami on October 25. Senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, also a first-team All-ACC selection, made four saves overall. She was also active in the box, cutting off several other dangerous chances before the Eagles were able to take shots.
Kristi Eveland, Rachel Givan and Whitney Engen on UNC's back line all played 102 minutes. Eveland became a big part of NCAA history in the process as she played in her 100th game, only the 31st player in NCAA history to do so and the 12th Tar Heel to accomplish the feat. Overall, the Tar Heel defense has allowed only 10 goals in 20 games this season and Friday's game was its 13th shutout of the season and its fourth in a row.
UNC has not allowed a goal in 382 minutes and three seconds since Beverly Goebel of Miami scored at 80:11 of the Hurricanes' 1-0 win over UNC on October 25 in Coral Gables, Fla.
"I'm certainly very proud of my kids, proud of the fact that they were dying to win it in overtime, and obviously we did," said North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance. "Tonight we played very well and I think we're within an eyelash of breaking open some of these games. With the exception of just putting it in the back of the net, we created so many chances."
"I think it was two great teams out there, two teams that always battle and always leave everything out on the field," said Boston College coach Alison Kulik. "As the game went on I was really impressed with the way I thought we got better, given the fact that our last two matches were double overtime games. I was really proud of our ability to endure and continue to play really good soccer."
North Carolina, which improved to 56-0-3 in ACC Championship play, will face top seed Florida State in Sunday's 2 p.m. championship game at WakeMed Soccer Park. The Tar Heels have played in the final match of every ACC Championship and have won 19 of the previous 21. The Tar Heels are now 5-0-3 all-time in overtime games played in the ACC Tournament.
The loss snapped an eight-game unbeaten streak for Boston College, which will await Monday night's NCAA Tournament selection show to find out when and where it will next play. The Eagles have advanced to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments dating to 2003.
"It is an unfortunate way to lose in the second overtime and on your own goal," Kulik said. "But I think leaving the ACC Tournament playing two really good teams, Virginia and UNC, certainly prepares you for the NCAA."
North Carolina finished with a 22-5 advantage in shots and a 12-4 edge in shots on goal. Mastroianni finished with a career-high 11 saves for the Eagles while Ashlyn Harris had four for UNC. UNC took six corner kicks to three for the Eagles. The game was virtually foul free with UNC committing four and BC eight. The Tar Heels were offside twice while BC went offside six times.
Casey Nogueira was brilliant all night. She did not score but she constantly put the Eagles under severe pressure. Nogueira had 10 of UNC's 22 shots and she forced Mastroianni to make five of her 11 saves on her shots. One of the best scoring chances Nogueira had all night came at 15:13 when she launched a shot from the left side of the penalty area which beat Mastroianni but hit the right post and bounded out of danger.
Friday's game marked only the second time in 59 games in ACC Tournament history in which the Tar Heels played as the lower seed. The first came on November 6, 1994 when second-seeded UNC beat top-seeded Duke 4-2 in the ACC Tournament championship game at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. Sunday, the Tar Heels will be the lower seed for the third time when they play the top-seeded Seminoles (16-3-1).
During the regular-season meeting between the two teams, the Seminoles rallied for a scintillating 3-2 double overtime triumph in Tallahassee, Fla. on October 22. FSU scored first in that game at 6:49 on a goal by Becky Edwards. That goal is the only allowed in the first half by UNC in 20 games this season. UNC rallied to take a 2-1 lead as Meghan Klingenberg tied the game at 65:01 and just 1:23 later Jessica McDonald put the Heels ahead 2-1.
FSU forced overtime when Amanda DaCosta scored with 5:07 left in regulation. The Seminoles got the game-winner on a header by Ella Stephan with just 12 seconds left in the second overtime period.
