Third-seeded Tar Heels eliminate Terps

CARY -- For the second time in three days, North Carolina women's soccer beat Maryland.

There was more riding this time on a chilly night at WakeMed Soccer Park, where the Tar Heels won 3-0 in the final of four first-round games in the ACC Women's Soccer Championship.

And this time it was a more convincing win.

Third-seeded North Carolina (15-3-1) scored fairly early, with several players getting good looks, and the Tar Heels didn't give up much.

Senior midfielder Tobin Heath, who had three shots in the first half, was slipped a pass from senior forward Casey Nogueira and fired past Maryland goalkeeper Mary Casey at 14:09.

"She slipped a perfect ball into me," Heath said of Nogueira. "It was very precise, right onto my feet."

The goal was Heath's first since the second game of the season. She missed six games while she was playing and practicing with the U.S. national team.

"It had been awhile," Heath said.

North Carolina got off nine shots in the half and controlled the ball for much of the period, allowing the sixth-seeded Terrapins (12-5-2) one shot, their only shot in the game.

The Tar Heels got their second goal in the second half when sophomore midfielder Maria Lubrano's shot hit the right post.

"I screamed, 'No!' " Lubrano said.

But the ball ricocheted in front of the net and bounced off the back of one of Maryland's players for an own goal at 55:57.

"In my mind, that's Lubrano's goal," Tar Heels coach Anson Dorrance said.

The goal ensured the game wouldn't end the same way the last game between the teams ended, on Sunday, when Lubrano scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory at College Park, Md.

"If somebody would have told me before the season that Maria Lubrano would be starting, that would have surprised me," Dorrance said. "That she is, and is playing like this right now, is a credit to her."

Lubrano was the first choice when senior midfielder Nikki Washington tore her right anterior cruciate ligament in September, ending her season.

And North Carolina got one more goal when freshman defender Lucy Bronze headed in a late goal at 82:53, with Jessica McDonald and Heath getting assists.

McDonald threw the ball inbounds to wide-open Heath, who touched the ball back to her.

With two defenders closing in, McDonald got the ball across to Bronze perfectly.

"She did a great job finding Lucy's head," Heath said.

McDonald had a team-high seven shots, many of them great looks, though her only point came on the assist to Bronze.

"It is frustrating, but at the same time it's motivation," McDonald said.

UNC will next face No. 2 seed Boston College at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. BC advanced to the semifinals by beating Virginia 3-2 on penalty kicks after the teams played to a scoreless tie in regulation and overtime.

The Tar Heels won the last meeting with Golden Eagles 2-1, scoring twice on penalty kicks on Oct. 1.

Latest Comment View all comments

Multimedia

Related Content

• Story:
  It's all about soccer
• Story:
  Va. Tech, BC advance to semifinals
• Story:
  Florida State ousts Duke