UNC among women’s soccer teams vying for spot in ACC championship
With one weekend left in the regular season, only Virginia has assured itself of a berth in the four-team ACC women’s championship, scheduled for Nov. 6-8 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.
The Cavaliers (13-1-1, 7-1 ACC, 21 points) used a penalty kick by former Green Hope High standout Alexis Shaffer to defeat then-No. 1 Florida State 1-0 on Sunday and take over first place in the ACC and the national rankings.
Five other teams remain in contention for Cary: Florida State (13-2-2, 6-1-2/20), Virginia Tech (14-2-2,6-2-1/19), North Carolina (13-3-1, 6-3/18), Clemson (12-3-1,6-3/18) and Boston College (11-6-1, 5-3-1/16). One more win puts UNC in because it holds the tiebreaker over Clemson by virtue of a 1-0 victory Sunday that completed a gut-check week for the Tar Heels. UNC had rallied for a 2-1 comeback win over Notre Dame on Thursday night to break a three-game losing streak.
BC probably has the toughest road, having to play at third-ranked Florida State. No. 8 UNC visits Miami (5-11, 2-7/6, and No. 7 Clemson travels to Syracuse (4-10-1, 3-6/9). Those three games are Saturday night. No. 5 Virginia Tech is at No. 14 Notre Dame (11-5-1, 5-4/15) on Friday night.
Men’s tournament update: The outlook for the ACC men’s tournament, which comprises 10 teams playing at campus sites of the higher seeds from Nov. 4-15, is more focused, with eight teams in and two on the doorstep.
Fifth-ranked UNC (13-1-1, 6-1/18), which visits No. 18 Virginia (9-3-2, 5-0-2/17) on Friday, is set as one of the top two seeds by virtue of its first-place finish in the Coastal Division. Either No. 2 Wake Forest (12-1-2, 5-0-2/17) or No. 3 Clemson (13-1-2, 5-1-1/16) will win the Atlantic, and either could pass UNC for the top seed. Clemson visits N.C. State (8-4-3, 1-3-3) at 7 p.m. Friday, while Wake travels to Louisville (6-7-3, 1-3-3).
Four of the six teams that will receive first-round byes are known – UNC, Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia. No. 14 Notre Dame (8-3-5, 3-2-2/11), No. 12 Syracuse (10-4-2, 3-3-1/10) and Boston College (8-5-1, 3-4/9) are battling for the final two byes. Syracuse visits BC, and Notre Dame hosts Pitt (5-8-3, 0-6-1/1) on Friday.
Pitt is the only team officially eliminated from the tournament field, although Virginia Tech (5-7-3, 0-4-3/3) is a longshot. The Hokies technically could catch either N.C. State or Louisville for 10th place with a victory Friday at Duke (8-6-2, 2-4-1/7) and a loss by State or Louisville. But Tech needs to make up a sizable goal differential deficit. The Wolfpack holds a three-goal edge in differential (goals scored minus goals allowed) over the Hokies, and the Cardinals have a five-goal advantage. Louisville tied N.C. State and Virginia Tech this season and would claim a three-way tiebreaker. State and Tech did not meet in the regular season.
In Virginia Tech’s favor, Clemson and Wake will be favored. However, the Hokies have managed only two goals all season against ACC competition, and Duke’s defense has been sturdy.
Should the teams end up tied in goal differential, the next tiebreaker is goals scored, with the standings Louisville (10), N.C. State (7), and Virginia Tech (2).
USWNT update: The U.S. women’s team continued its unbeaten run on its World Cup Victory Tour on Sunday in Orlando, Fla., beating Brazil 3-1. Former UNC All-American Crystal Dunn scored the game-winner in first-half stoppage time, putting in the rebound of a header by Lindsey Horan.
Another former UNC star, Lori Chalupny, was honored pre-game on her 106th and final appearance for the U.S. team. She started and was substituted out in the 21st minute by fellow UNC alum Meghan Klingenberg, one of seven former Tar Heels on the team.
U-20 Update: The U.S. U-20 women’s team claimed a 3-0 victory over Atletico Madrid last Friday, the first of two matches during a 10-day training camp in Spain. Three area players are part of the 21-player team, which is mostly composed of high school players. Only two college players, both goalkeepers, were called by U.S. coach Michelle French, freshman Samantha Leshnak of UNC and sophomore Rose Chandler of Penn State.
The area high school players on the squad are senior defender Taylor Otto of Apex and sophomore midfielder Brianna Pinto of Jordan High in Durham. Otto played the entire match against Atletico Madrid, and Pinto was a 61st minute substitution. Leshnak did not appear in the match.
Otto is a member of CASL’s U-18 ECNL team, while Pinto plays for CASL’s U-16 ECNL team. Both players have committed to UNC.
The U.S. is preparing for the CONCACAF U-20 championships Dec. 3-13 in Honduras. Three teams there will qualify for the 2016 U-20 World Cup in Papua New Guinea.
This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 3:21 PM with the headline "UNC among women’s soccer teams vying for spot in ACC championship."