Tar Heels Down Seminoles To Advance To ACC Semifinals

Sunday, October 29

Cary, N.C.

1 p.m.

North Carolina

11-6-1

Florida State

13-2-2

Florida State

North Carolina

October 29, 2017 | Women's Soccer

Box Score UNC-Florida State Box Score (pdf)Watch Highlights on YouTube Coach Dorrance Post Game (mp3)

UNC will face NC State in ACC semifinals Friday.

By: Dave Lohse

CARY, N.C. – The fourth-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team defeated 23^rd-ranked Florida State 2-1 Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Soccer Championship at WakeMed Soccer Park's Koka Booth Stadium before a crowd of 289 fans.

With the win, the Tar Heels advance to the semifinals of the ACC Championship where they will play NC State next Friday at 8 p.m. at MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston, S.C. The Tar Heels are in the tournament semifinals for the fifth straight year. The No. 2 seed Tar Heels are seeking their first conference tournament championship since 2009. The Seminoles saw their four-year run as the conference tournament champion ended by UNC on Sunday.

UNC improved to 13-2-2 on the season while Florida State fell to 11-6-1. Carolina is now 16-0-3 in the last 19 games it has played against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents dating to a 1-0 loss at Notre Dame on October 14, 2016.

The Tar Heels dominated the match against the Seminoles in terms of possession and shots taken. UNC ended with an 18-3 edge in shots, including a 9-2 edge in shots on goal and an 11-0 advantage in the first half.

Florida State started the match with four corner kicks in a span of 1:12 in the fourth, fifth and sixth minutes of the game but it was unable to generate a shot off of any of them.

UNC scored the opening goal of the match in the 15^th minute of play. Julia Ashley served a ball from the right side that found Bridgette Andrzejewski at the far post. Andrzejewski's header was knocked away by Florida State goalkeeper Cassie Miller but she was not able to hold on and UNC sophomore forward Zoe Redei ran on to the loose ball and buried it into the back of the net for her first goal of the year at 14:36 of the match.

UNC got a boost off the bench by Kate Morris late in the half as she recorded three shots in a span of 4:01. Her best chance to score came at 40:45 but her effort was saved off the goal line by a Florida State defender. Julia Ashley followed up with another shot nine seconds later and again an FSU defender had to make a back save to prevent the Tar Heels from doubling their lead.

Samantha Leshnak was forced to make her first and only save of the game when Clara Robins took a shot from long distance off a free kick early in the second half. The Tar Heels then doubled their lead on a penalty kick goal by Taylor Otto at 52:48 of the match. Bridgette Andrzejewski deftly dribbled into the box on a counter attack before being tripped up by a Seminole defender. Otto stepped to the spot and sent the penalty kick into the lower right corner of the goal. It was the redshirt freshman's fourth goal of the season and she is now three-for-three on penalty kick chances.

At 55:47, Florida State made a trio of substitutions, putting leading scorer Deyna Castellanos and second-leading scorer Bella Dorosy into the match. Just 32 seconds later, those two players combined on a goal as Castellanos sent a long pass through the defending line to Dorosy who finished one-on-one with Leshnak for her seventh goal of the season. Adrienne Richardson was also credited with an assist on the Seminole goal.

The game became a battle of possession in the midfield the remainder of the way. UNC had five more shots in the half with three of them being blocked by the FSU defense. After Florida State scored in the 57^th minute, the Seminoles would take only one more shot, a harmless header off a corner kick in the 89^th minute by Anna Patten.