Nov. 8, 2009

• ACC Women's Soccer Championship Site
• Box Score
• Coaches Quotes
• Players Quotes
• theACC.com Photo Gallery: Florida State vs. North Carolina

CARY, N.C. - Third-seeded North Carolina entered the game as the lower seed for just the third time in Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Soccer Championship history, but showed it is still the team to beat as the Tar Heels defeated top seed Florida State, 3-0, Sunday afternoon in the ACC Championship title game at WakeMed Soccer Park.

"We are excited to be the ACC champions, the No. 1 conference in the nation for women's soccer," UNC coach Anson Dorrance said. "Yet we give credit to a great Florida State team. Obviously they were a very tired, worn down team today - very different than the team that we saw earlier in the season. But we are ecstatic for this win and look forward to the upcoming NCAA Tournament."

The fourth-ranked Tar Heels (17-3-1) scored two goals in the first 13 minutes of the match and added one second-half goal as they avenged an earlier loss to the third-ranked Seminoles (16-4-1). UNC won the ACC championship for the 20th time in the event's 22-year history as it improved to 57-0-3 in ACC Tournament action.

"The better team won," said FSU coach Mark Krikorian. "Carolina was better from the start and took it to us pretty well. (They) created good chances early on and throughout the course of the game. I don't think we were sharp enough or good enough today, so we move on."

North Carolina wasted no time in claiming an early lead. In the third minute of play, senior forward Casey Nogueira scored her seventh goal of the season from 16 yards out on assists from Jessica McDonald and Kristi Eveland. Nogueira, the ACC Championship Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row, made it a 2-0 game when she sent a penalty kick into the lower left corner of the net at the 12:48 mark. It was the 3,000th goal in UNC women's soccer history.

Forward Sterling Smith gave the Tar Heels a 3-0 lead at 69:16 when her cross from 12 yards out slipped inside the left post. It was the first goal of the season for the senior from Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels, who outscored their opponents 7-0 in three ACC Championship matches, recorded their fifth consecutive shutout. They earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will begin on Friday, November 13.

The Seminoles fell to the Tar Heels in the ACC Championship title game for the fifth time. Florida State has made nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and will await Monday night's NCAA Tournament selection show to find out when and where it will next play.