Women's Soccer ACCtion: Thursday, September 24
Tar Heels, Seminoles, Eagles, Wolfpack and Hokies grab conference victories.
Alyssa Rich's goal in overtime gave North Carolina a 2-1 win ove Duke.

Alyssa Rich's goal in overtime gave North Carolina a 2-1 win ove Duke.

Sept. 24, 2009

Rich's Overtime Goal Caps Wild Finish In Carolina's Win Over Duke
North Carolina freshman Alyssa Rich scored off a rebound of a shot by Casey Nogueira with 3:01 left in the first overtime period Thursday night to lift top-ranked North Carolina to a 2-1 women's soccer victory over arch-rival Duke before a crowd of 2,428 at Fetzer Field.

Rich's goal capped a wild finish with three goals in the final 14 minutes of the game after the teams had failed to score in the first 83 plus minutes of the match.

Maria Lubrano had given UNC a lead with 6:54 to play with her first career goal as she scored on a rebound of her own initial shot which clanged off the cross bar.

FSU Holds Off Terps 2-1
Fifth-ranked Florida State (8-1-0, 1-0-0 ACC) opened ACC play Thursday night with a 2-1 victory over No. 9 Maryland (8-1-0, 0-1-0 ACC) handing the Terps their first loss of the 2009 season.

Florida State remains perfect on the year against ranked opponents moving to 4-0-0 including three victories against teams ranked in the top 10.

The win extended the Seminoles' win streak to five straight over the Terrapins, while snapping a four-game losing streak in ACC openers. The last win for the Garnet and Gold to open league play came in 2004 at home in a 2-1 victory over Clemson.

Kristen Mewis Leads No. 6 Boston College Past Miami
Kristen Mewis had a goal and an assist in the first half to lead Boston College past Miami, 2-0, in the ACC season-opener for both teams at Cobb Stadium on the campus of the University of Miami.

The Eagles improve to 9-0-0 overall and 1-0-0 in the ACC, while Miami is now 5-5-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the conference. BC, which is ranked No. 2 by Soccer America and No. 6 by the NSCAA, will travel to Tallahassee to play No. 5 Florida State on Sunday, Sept. 27 (1 p.m.).

Mewis got the Eagles on the board when she set up fellow freshman Victoria DiMartino in the 32 minute mark. DiMartino would give the Eagles a 1-0 on her ninth goal of the season. DiMartino now has nine goals and two assists for a team leading 20 points.

NC State Grabs ACC Win From No. 14 UVa
It had been nearly three calendar years since the NC State women’s soccer team won an Atlantic Coast Conference league match heading into tonight’s tilt with No. 14 Virginia.

Heck it had been 14 years since the Wolfpack had beaten the Cavaliers, but all that was erased Thursday night at Dail Soccer Stadium when sophomore Paige Dugal scored with just over two minutes left in regulation for a long-awaited 2-1 league victory.

The Pack’s first in ACC play since a 1-0 win over Maryland on Oct. 11, 2006.

Johnson earns Tech first win over Clemson
After a close first half and a scoreless second, Tech defeated the Clemson Tigers for the first time in program history, 2-1, as the two teams battled in through overtime for the fourth straight year. The Hokies, who move to 7-2-0 on the season and 1-0 in ACC play, put an end to a four-year tying streak against the Tiger, who fell to 3-6-0 overall and 0-1 in the ACC after the match. Senior Julian Johnson’s last-minute heroics and junior Jennifer Harvey’s regulation score put numbers on the board for the Hokies, while Tara Cort found the net for the Tigers.

Harvey would be the first to strike, in the 11th minute, as she was able to get a foot on a throw-in from Julian Johnson after scrambling in the box. Harvey slipped the ball, on the ground, past the keeper for her fifth score of the season, while Johnson earned her fourth assist of the year on the play.

The two teams battled through the remainder of the first half with the ball reaching as far as either team’s 18 very few times. The Hokie defense, led my Brittany Michels and Kelly Lynch, held their ground in the first half, allowing the Tigers to take just six shots. Clemson only came close to Tech’s keeper once, but the shot resulted in a Tiger goal with 15 seconds remaining in the half. Sophomore Tara Cort scored for Clemson on her only shot of the game, receiving the ball from teammate Ashlynne Bass as she sailed a free kick into the box for her teammates.