Nov. 7, 2008

Just some thoughts and observations from the ACC Women's Soccer Championship in Cary, N.C.

Heather Hirschman
Website Coordinator for theACC.com

10:04 p.m. - What a night! See you all on Sunday!

10:01 p.m. - Lauren Alwine was the only Cavalier to score on Carden in regulation and was the only one to make her PK in the shootout (in the fourth round). Carden came back with another great save to help the Hokies advance on PKs, 2-1.

9:59 p.m. - Freshman Kristin Carden is on fire! She made some great saves in regulation and has opened PKs with three great stops!!!

9:20 p.m. - What did I say? We are going to overtime.

9:01 p.m. - It looks like these two teams do want to play some extra time again tonight. Emily Jukich just "juked" a Cavalier defender and found the corner of the goal in a hook shot around that defender. 1-1 tie with 20 minutes left.

8:44 p.m. - Time is flying! I feel like I have seen very little in this match. Probably because I have had my nose buried in this computer between loading photos and trying to speed up my computer. Hokie Kristin Cardin did just make a great save as I was writing this.

7:54 p.m. - Midway through the second half Virginia's Lauren Alwine scored a goal to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead. They are looking to avenge the loss to the Hokies earlier this season, the first ever in the program's history.

7:40 p.m. - It has been some good back-and-forth action, but nothing significant to report. It's a lot quieter in the pressbox since several of us are still working on items from the first match.

7:30 p.m. - UNC did find the net right after that and won 2-0. Now it's time to post everything online while the second match gets underway.

6:44 p.m. - As warm as it is here in Cary, we just experienced a flurry. North Carolina had three shots bang-bang-gang and then another shot with an amazing save by Jillian Mastroianni. She is definitely feeling the pressure and handling it!

6:22 p.m. - We are well into the second half with no change in the score. Halftime was a mad rush to the food line where the Chick-fil-A nuggets, sandwiches and wraps were devoured quickly. I've been buried in the computer sorting pictures from the first half. These will make a great photo gallery. Check back after the game.

5:49 p.m. - It's halftime. North Carolina leads 1-0. Since BC joined the ACC, the teams have scored a combined 16 goals (this is the 5th match). This was just the third goal scored in the first half of one of those matches.

5:40 p.m. - BC's Mae Shamir, the team's third goalkeeper, just checked in wearing number 19 (instead of 23) as a forward. This is her first action of the season.

5:31 p.m. - I see that field hockey just ended regulation in a 2-2 tie. Nothing against these teams, but I hope we got our overtimes out of the way on Wednesday. And, as I write that, Nikki Washington finds the net on a one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

4:59 p.m. - Why is it that someone always knows how to call the press box phone right in the middle of the national anthem.

4:30 p.m. - The best thing about ACC Championships is getting to see all of the people we work with (via phone and e-mail) all season. I even broken my friend Stephanie from Boston College her own half gallon of true Southern Sweet Tea!

4:15 p.m. - Despite having a drive on the computer that runs ACC Select crash earlier today, the game will still be available on ACC Select with free access for all fans. Click here to watch the first match -- North Carolina vs. Boston College!