Women's Soccer ACCtion: Thursday, October 30
Miami, Maryland and Wake Forest win; two matches end in ties.
Maryland closed its season with a win.

Maryland closed its season with a win.

Oct. 30, 2008

Miami Unbeaten in Four Straight With 1-0 Win Over NC State

RALIEGH, N.C. - The University of Miami women's soccer team (10-6-3, 3-4-2) clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament with a 1-0 victory over the NC State Wolfpack (8-11-0, 0-9-0) Thursday night.

Freshman Julianne Rickers scored her third goal of the season in the 65th minute for the game's only goal. She took a Jessica Wyble pass and outraced the NC State defense before firing a shot from 20-yards out for the score.

That was all the offense that Miami needed in the shutout, which was the 11th of the season for the team and for freshman goal keeper Vikki Alonzo. The Carrollton, Texas native extended her school record for shutouts in a season. The previous season-high was six by Lauren McAdam in 2006.

The Hurricanes had other opportunities to score throughout the game. Rickers was inches away from having her first multi-goal game of her career as she hit the post in the 14th minute. In the second half, Wyble hit the post in the 86th minute, with the rebound going to Lauren Singer, who missed her shot high.

Maryland Women's Soccer Sends Seniors Out With 1-0 Win Over Clemson

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The score doesn't reflect how dominating the University of Maryland women's soccer team was in its 1-0 victory over Clemson Thursday night at Ludwig Field. The Terps controlled every facet of the match to send their seniors out with a win on "Senior Night."

The Terps scored the game's lone goal in the 34th minute on a play that started innocently enough with sophomore midfielder Caitlin McDowell sending a simple through ball into freshman Lydia Hastings in the middle of the field. Hastings looked up to see Clemson keeper Paula Pritzen off of her line and chipped the ball over Pritzen's head from 35 yards out. The ball took a big bounce and finished into the upper right 90.

The margin of victory could have been much greater for the Terps, but a 10-save performance by Pritzen and some unlucky bounces kept Maryland from tallying another goal.

No. 19 Wake Forest Picks Up Crucial Conference Win At Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Junior forward Jill Hutchinson's goal in the 52nd minute lifted No. 19 Wake Forest (11-6-0, 4-5-0 ACC) to a 2-1 conference win over Virginia Tech (9-7-2, 3-4-2 ACC) on Thursday night at Virginia Tech Soccer Stadium.

Wake Forest was able to outshoot the Hokies, holding an 11-7 shot advantage. The Deacs had five corner kicks compared to three for Virginia Tech. Both teams attempted three corner kicks.

With the score tied at one, Wake Forest took the lead for the first time in the game with 38:23 left in the second half. Hutchinson fired a shot from 22 yards out that went inside the left post, past the diving Hokie goalkeeper to give the Deacons a 2-1 edge

Virginia and Duke Play to a Scoreless Draw

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The No. 11 Virginia women's soccer team couldn't take advantage of a 22-6 shot advantage and played to a 0-0 tie with No. 13 Duke Thursday night at Klöckner Stadium. With the tie, the Cavaliers are now 12-3-2, while the Blue Devils are 12-3-3.

The Cavaliers dominated the chances, forcing Blue Devil keeper Cassidy Powers to make several key saves throughout the game. Virginia's best chance came in the 59th minute when Sinead Farrelly (Havertown, Pa.) dribbled through the Duke defense and was alone on Powers. She slipped a shot past the keeper that hit off the inside of the post but bounced out.

In addition to the 22-6 shot advantage, Virginia had a 4-0 corner kick advantage. Celeste Miles (Garland, Texas) made two saves for Virginia to post her eighth shutout of the season, while Powers made 10 saves for Duke.

No. 2 Tar Heels & No. 6 Seminoles Battle To Draw

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Second-ranked North Carolina and sixth-ranked Florida State battled to a hard-fought 2-2 tie Thursday night at Fetzer Field in collegiate women's soccer action. The draw ended UNC's 11-match winning streak but it still allows the Tar Heels to control their own fate in the regular season Atlantic Coast Conference standings heading into the final match of the season.

It was the fourth time in the last six meetings that UNC and Florida State have gone to overtime, with the Tar Heels now 2-0-2 in those contests. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series with the Seminoles 21-1-2. A win or a tie by the Tar Heels against Miami Sunday will allow the Tar Heels to claim the ACC regular season championship and the top seed in the ACC Tournament regardless of how the Seminoles fare against NC State in Raleigh on Sunday.

UNC is now 15-1-2 overall this season and 8-0-1 in the ACC. Florida State is 13-2-2 overall and 7-1-1 in the ACC. A win or tie against Miami Sunday will allow Carolina to finish the ACC regular season without a loss on its ledger for the 17th time in 22 seasons of conference play.

After Carolina scored two first half goals, Florida State sophomore Sanna Talonen rallied the Seminoles to the tie by scoring a pair of goals, including a backbreaking tally against the Heels with only 40 seconds left in the first half.