Heels claim another ACC soccer title

CARY -- North Carolina and Florida State met in the championship match of the ACC Women's Soccer Championship for the third time in four years at WakeMed Soccer Park on Sunday. The game ended just like the others.

Third-seeded North Carolina beat top-seeded Florida State 3-0 for its 20th ACC tournament title in 22 years. The Tar Heels (17-3-1) have a 57-0-3 record in ACC tournament play.

"Every season has different kinds of challenges and also wonderful rewards," UNC coach Anson Dorrance said. "This season was no different."

UNC started the scoring in the third minute when senior forward Casey Nogueira received a pass from junior Jessica McDonald and slid the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Erin McNulty. Florida State (16-4-1) hadn't given up a goal in the ACC tournament since the championship game in 2007 against North Carolina, a span of more than 356 minutes.

"Obviously, the ball that Jess gave me was perfect," Nogueira said. "If I didn't finish it, I probably would have been benched."

In the 13th minute, a foul by Florida State sophomore Toni Pressley on sophomore Courtney Jones in the box resulted in a penalty kick. Nogueira took the kick and deposited it into the net for her eighth goal of the season and the 3,000th all-time goal for UNC. For her performance, Nogueira, who took 19 shots in the tournament, took home the tournament's MVP award.

The Tar Heels added a goal in the second half. In the 70th minute, senior forward Sterling Smith finished the scoring with her first goal since 2007.

UNC senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris played 84 minutes and combined with freshman Hannah Daly to keep the ACC's highest-scoring offense off the board.

"We had to respect [Florida State] a little bit more today," Harris said. "We had to soften our line a little bit. We did that, and to be honest, they didn't get many opportunities."

Sunday's game marked the 10th meeting between UNC and Florida State in the ACC Tournament. North Carolina has won all 10 by a combined score of 41-4.

Before Sunday's meeting, the teams had played seven consecutive games decided by one goal or fewer. Earlier this season, Florida State won 3-2 and limited UNC to 13 shots. The Tar Heels racked up 26 shots in Sunday's game.

Four more Tar Heels joined Nogueira on the all-tournament team: Harris, senior defenders Whitney Engen and Kristi Eveland, and senior midfielder Tobin Heath.

Meanwhile, UNC and Florida State will await tonight's announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket.

"I think we'll be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament," Dorrance said. "Unless someone has lost their mind, we will be the No. 2 No. 1 seed, and that's an excellent position to be in."

North Carolina 3, Florida State 0

First: UNC, Casey Nogueira (Jessica McDonald, Kristi Eveland), 2:25; UNC, Casey Nogueira (Penalty Kick), 12:48.

Second: UNC, Sterling Smith (Tobin Heath, Brittani Bartok), 69:16.

Records: UNC 17-3-1, Florida State 16-4-1.

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