Pack in ACC final

CARY -- Playing each other for the first time in the ACC Tournament, seventh-seeded N.C. State beat third-seeded Boston College on Friday night 1-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

With the win, N.C. State (13-5-2) advances to play Virginia in the final of the ACC Tournament for the first time since 1990, when it beat Virginia 2-1 for its only ACC Tournament championship.

"I'm in heaven," N.C. State head coach George Tarantini said. "It's been a wonderful experience, and I'm just very humble for the opportunity [to play]."

N.C. State broke a three-game scoreless streak against ACC opponents in the seventh minute. Senior forward Ronnie Bouemboue headed a corner kick from senior Alan Sanchez past Cavaliers freshman goalkeeper Justin Luthy. The goal was Bouemboue's eighth of the season.

"It's a play we worked on at practice every day," said Bouemboue, a member of the 2009 ACC all-conference team. "Alan had a good serve in, and I just tried to get a head on it."

Boston College outshot N.C. State 16-11 but only two of those were on goal. N.C. State senior goalkeeper Christopher Widman saved both shots and recorded his career-best ninth shutout of the season. He came into the game allowing an average of .86 goals per game.

"Boston College is one of the top teams in the league," Widman said. "I think we did a pretty good job staying organized and limiting their opportunities."

One of Boston College's few opportunities came in the 89th minute. With eight seconds left, freshman forward Kevin Mejia's shot hit the post and bounced harmlessly away.

Boston College had five wins in the ACC this season, including two against nationally-ranked teams.

"I thought it was a really good game," Boston College coach Ed Kelly said. "We couldn't be happier - we lost - but we're happy that we'll more than likely be in the NCAA [tournament]."

Coming into the game, N.C. State had been 1-2-1 in its last four games.

The Wolfpack will be the first team seeded seventh to play in the ACC Championship game since 1999. Fifth-seeded Virginia, which has won the ACC Tournament nine times, faces the Wolfpack for the ACC Championship on Sunday at 1 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Virginia beat N.C. State 1-0 on Nov. 7, the final game of the season for both squads. The Wolfpack scored the most points of any ACC team this season. The Cavaliers have allowed the fewest goals in the ACC behind goalkeeper Diego Restrepo's ACC-leading 10 shutouts.

"They might come to play the whole 90 minutes," Bouemboue says. "If they slip up one time, hopefully we get one."

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