North Carolina Shuts Out Boston College, 2-0, in ACC Championship Semifinal

Nov. 7, 2008

CARY, N.C. - North Carolina moved one step closer to capturing its 19th ACC Women’s Soccer Championship in 21 years after defeating Boston College 2-0 in a closely contested semifinal on Friday night.

North Carolina and Boston College both entered the game on the heels of 1-0 victories in the quarterfinals. The Tar Heels ousted eighth-seeded Miami and the Eagles beat fifth seeded Duke.

North Carolina (18-1-2) picked up its 12th shutout of the season en route to the victory over fourth-seeded Boston College (13-5-2). The Tar Heels will take on the winner of tonight’s later matchup between Virginia and Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Final on Sunday at 1 pm.

Both teams spent the majority of the first half tentatively trading barbs, unwilling to give up a big opportunity. All of that changed with 13 minutes remaining, when North Carolina midfielder Nikki Washington broke the scoreless tie.

The play began with a pinpoint cross from Meghan Klingenberg that Brittani Bartok brought down in the box. Washington picked up the ball from Bartok and slotted a shot past Boston College goaltender Jillian Mastroianni.

The Tar Heels failed to let their foot off the gas in the second half, as Mastroianni was forced to make save after save. With 11 minutes remaining Mastroianni denied a Tar Heels flurry of three shots that ended with North Carolina forward Casey Nogueira hitting the post.

With six minutes remaining in the game, the Tar Heels spurned the Eagles defense for the second time. Kilngenberg sent a dangerous ball in from the flank that landed at the feet of Nogueira, and she blasted it past Mastroianni for her 20th goal of the season.

“Obviously we’re excited to advance and be alive at the ACC Tournament,” said North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance. “We didn’t play particularly well in the first half but we were fortunate to get a nice goal from Nikki and a good early service from Klingenberg. We were very pleased to be up at the half despite the fact we didn’t possess the ball all that well.”

Despite the outcome, Boston College coach Alison Kulik believes the experience will further battle-test her team as it focuses on postseason play.

“I think we did what we set out to do,” Kulick said. “We got caught out of position a couple of times and they capitalized on their chances. I think we changed the point of attack and we pushed numbers forward and had a couple of chances. I think at this point we know we can compete with some of the top teams in the tournament and in the NCAAs up next. This will leave us hungry.”

Sunday’s championship match will be televised live on Fox Sports South, Sun Sports, NESN and Comcast Sports Net at 1 pm