UNC women’s soccer team wins first game of ACC tournament
It’s been a rollercoaster season for North Carolina’s women’s soccer team, but the Tar Heels secured two big wins this season to reach the semifinals of the ACC tournament. The field hockey and men’s soccer teams concluded their regular seasons and will enter postseason play this weekend, while the volleyball team hit a snag in an otherwise historic season.
Field hockey: The No. 5 North Carolina field hockey team (15-4, 3-3 ACC) closed out the regular season with a 2-0 win against Old Dominion Saturday, followed by a9-1 win over Appalachian State on senior day on Sunday. Senior Lauren Moyer scored once against Old Dominion and twice against the Mountaineers to bring her team-leading season total to 17.
The fifth-seeded Tar Heels will next take on the No. 4 seed Louisville in the ACC Tournament on Thursday in Winston-Salem. The No. 7 ranked Cardinals topped UNC 1-0 on Oct. 15.
Men’s soccer: The No. 3 North Carolina men’s soccer team (11-2-3, 5-1-2 ACC) ended its Friday match against No. 12 Notre Dame in a scoreless draw, giving the Tar Heels the top seed in the ACC tournament. UNC will play the winner of the Boston College-Virginia Tech game (the Tar Heels have beaten both teams this season) on Sunday.
North Carolina will enter that game on a three-game shutout streak. The last goal scored against the Tar Heels was by Duke on Oct. 14.
Women’s soccer: Tar Heels’ freshman Madison Schultz scored her first career goal Thursday to give UNC a 2-1 win over Florida State, its first over the Seminoles since 2011.
That win gave UNC a home game in the ACC tournament quarterfinals on Sunday, when they beat No. 7 Virginia 3-0. Schultz scored again after stealing the ball from the keeper in the first half. Senior Sarah Ashley Firstenburg and freshman Morgan Goff also scored for UNC. The Tar Heels will play 11th-ranked and top-seeded Notre Dame in the tournament semifinals in Charleston, S.C. on Friday.
Volleyball: The No. 7 North Carolina women’s volleyball team (19-3, 11-1 ACC) pushed its best-ever ACC start to 11-0 with a 3-1 win against Virginia Tech on Friday. However, the win streak would end there, as Pittsburgh beat UNC in five sets on Sunday.
Redshirt junior Taylor Fricano had seven blocks against the Hokies and 10 against Pitt, while sophomore Taylor Leath hit 29 kills in the two matches. The Tar Heels head to Miami Friday and Florida State Sunday.
This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 10:48 AM with the headline "UNC women’s soccer team wins first game of ACC tournament."