Nov. 16, 2007

• 2007 ACC Men's Soccer Championship
• Box Score
• Photo Gallery
• Webcast Archived on ACC Select

CARY, N.C. - In Friday's second ACC Men's Soccer Championship semifinal, the No. 1-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons defeated North Carolina 1-0 at the SAS Soccer Complex in Cary, N.C. With his eighth goal of the season in the last minute of overtime, Deacons' junior forward Marcus Tracy clinched Wake Forest's 17th win of the season.

"Carolina threw everything at us but the kitchen sink," said Wake Forest head coach Jay Vidovich. "I think it was a fantastic game. They played their hearts out."

After being defeated 2-0 in a game in which they were able to post only two shots just 13 days ago against the Deacons in Winston-Salem, N.C., the Tar Heels came out playing their best in tonight's game, firing six shots to the Deacons' three in the game's first half. Wake Forest was able to weather the early storm, however, thanks largely to several outstanding saves by senior keeper Brian Edwards in the game's early stages.

In the second half, the Deacons came out looking more like their top rank would indicate, creating several chances near the North Carolina goal, and outshooting the Tar Heels 5-2. With less than one minute remaining, a shot on a breakaway by Wake Forest sophomore Zack Schilawski rolled just inches wide of the goal, leaving the score deadlocked at zero and sending the match into overtime.

In the extra period neither team was able to mount much offense, and a second overtime looked likely until the period's last minute. Chasing down a pass from sophomore forward Cody Arnoux, Wake Forest's Marcus Tracy beat the North Carolina defense and rounding the charging Tar Heels goalkeeper, sending the ball into the back of the net from 15 yards out for the game's decisive score.

For North Carolina, who falls to 7-8-5 with the loss, tonight's hard-fought defeat caps a disappointing season.

"I think we earned a lot of respect today from everybody," Tar Heel head coach Elmar Bolowich said. "We played a heck of a tournament...We tried our hardest, and that's all we can ask for."

The Deacons now advance to Sunday's championship game, where they will face the tournament's top-seed, Boston College. The Eagles, who currently are ranked sixth in the nation, handed Wake Forest their only loss of the season with a 1-0 victory at Chestnut Hill, Mass. on Oct. 27.

Sunday's championship game is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start and will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net. The ACC men's soccer awards ceremony will be immediately following the title game.

For complete results, please visit TheACC.com and make sure to check out the 2007 ACC Men's Soccer Championship page.

Quotes:

Wake Forest

Junior Forward Marcus Tracy
"Carolina came out and played a great game. We knew from the start they were going to come out with a lot of energy, a lot of passion, because a lot was riding on this game. We tried to sustain their pressure for 90 minutes, just enforce our game on them, just stick it in the back of the net. Just sustaining and perseverance is what we talked about in practice...It was a different team than what we saw in regular season. They need this win to go above .500 and get to the tournament. A lot of credit to them for the hard effort they put into it."

Head Coach Jay Vidovich
"Carolina is a fantastic team. Their motivation was extreme and they did a great job. We made some mistakes, and we felt like we created some of our own problems in the back. We knew that if we could just take away our mistakes we would be okay. We just wanted to keep grinding it out and find a way to start breaking them down. The first half, Carolina was throwing everything but the kitchen sink, and maybe that was coming next. At halftime, we cleaned up our own mistakes, we didn't want to allow them to come back in the game...I think this is one of Wake Forest's greatest games. If I look at this game and the amount of pressure and the amount of skill and technique of both those teams out there, and their determination, it was one of the best soccer games you'll see. There was no space, no time out there to play. The kids were playing at a tremendous pace."

North Carolina

Head Coach Elmar Bolowich
"It was a heck of game. Just two teams battling it out, flat out laying it on the line, and neither team wanted to surrender, and it came down to that one team made a play. It's either gonna be you making it or the other guy making it, and tonight it was them, and that's how they advanced, and that's soccer. I think these games are much, much more interesting than the ones where you break away with a 3, 4 goal lead. These games tell a lot about your players and a lot about your opponents."

Junior Midfielder Garry Lewis
"We knew coming in to the game that they were gonna try to push the ball and play like they wanted to play, and our game plan was to come out and pressure all over the field and not give them any room to dribble and to make those passes like they did the previous game. That was just our mentality. We've had a pretty rough season, and we wanted to come back and really show everybody that we can play. It's just unfortunate that we weren't the winner."