Oct. 24, 2009

No. 1 Terps Claim ACC Crown Over No. 2 Tar Heels

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The No. 1-ranked Maryland field hockey team held off No. 2 North Carolina 4-1 in a rainy, wet match Saturday afternoon and claimed the ACC regular season title. The Terrapins moved to 17-0 on the year, a first in school history. With the win, Maryland claimed the No. 1 -seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament.

Senior goalkeeper Alicia Grater kept the Tar Heels scoreless until the final minute of play with a new career-high 12 saves. Her previous best was 10 saves against Duke in the Terrapins' last loss, which was in last season.

Senior Nicole Muracco, Maryland's all-time leading scorer, scored twice for the Terps. She has now tied her own career high of 25 goals in a season and is just four away from owning the school record. Senior Emma Thomas and junior Katie O'Donnell each added a goal and O'Donnell added an assist as well. Prior to Saturday's classic conference battle, North Carolina had allowed its opponents just four goals on the year.

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No. 3 Virginia Defeats No. 6 Wake Forest 2-0

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The third-ranked Virginia field hockey team (15-2, 2-2 ACC) defeated No. 6 Wake Forest (10-5, 1-3 ACC) 2-0 Saturday in Winston-Salem, Va. Sophomores Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese each scored in the winning effort.

The Cavaliers outshot Wake Forest 7-6 for the game and had a 7-2 advantage on penalty corners. Both Virginia scores came in the second half.

Selenski scored to put UVa up 1-0 in the 52nd minute, converting on a penalty corner. Charlotte van den Broek pushed the ball out to Selenski, who put it past Wake Forest keeper Kaitlyn Ruhf.

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Blue Devils Top Ohio, 1-0

DURHAM, N.C. - Megan Deakins scored the game-winning goal in the 17th minute against Ohio to give Duke the 1-0 victory today in Athens, Ohio.

The 13th-ranked Blue Devils (9-7, 0-4 ACC) were able to win their third consecutive game on the road. Duke held the advantage in shots (12-8) and had six penalty corners on the day. Junior goalie Samantha Nelson got her second shutout of the season, saving six Bobcat shots to keep a clean sheet.

Duke was able to convert a penalty corner at the 17:23 mark when Deakins tipped in a pass from senior defender Lauren Miller. The goal was Deakins second of the year, with her last coming against Old Dominion on Sept. 20. The Devon, Pa. native has 3 points in the last two games. Miller's assist was her fifth of the season, which ties her for the second-best mark on the squad.