Florida State downs Tar Heels 2-1 in women’s soccer
Florida State will play for its fourth ACC women’s soccer title in the past five years.
The second-seeded Seminoles got two goals from senior forward Cheyna Williams, her seventh and eighth of the season, to overcome third-seeded North Carolina 2-1 in the semifinals Friday night of the ACC Women’s Soccer Championship at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Florida State (14-2-3) will play top-seeded Virginia at noon Sunday for the championship. The Cavaliers (16-1-1) routed Clemson 5-0 with five second-half goals in the first semifinal Friday, their eighth consecutive win over the Tigers, the last seven by shutout.
Kristen McNabb had two goals for UVa, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, and former Green Hope High standout Alexis Shaffer notched a goal and an assist. Veronica Latsko and Christiana Sullivan also scored for the Cavaliers, who have totaled 18 goals in their last three games and rank third in the nation in scoring. Shaffer got her team-high 11th goal of the season.
Eighth-ranked UNC (14-4-1) and sixth-ranked Clemson (13-4-1) will await at-large bids Monday when the NCAA tournament bracket is announced.
Alexa Newfield got an equalizing goal for UNC on a free kick, her 10th goal of the season, in the 49th minute. But Williams struck again in the 66th minute, taking a cross-field pass from Natalia Kuikka after a rare midfield turnover by UNC’s Katie Bowen.
Cassie Miller made the lead stand up for the fourth-ranked Seminoles, making three saves, all in the second half.
“Obviously I’m disappointed with the result, but I wasn’t disappointed in our performance,” UNC coach Anson Dorrance said. “The first time we played them down at FSU (a 1-0 loss) we could have been down 3-0 or 4-0 at the half.”
He added, “Florida State is an excellent team. They figure out ways to win. But we’re also one of the few teams to play them with their full complement.”
Florida State broke on top in the 23rd minute, when Williams scored on a header from 9 yards off a cross from Natalia Kuikka. The goal came a minute after UNC goalkeeper Bryane Heaberlin stopped Williams from close range.
“When you miss one you just pray you get another opportunity to make up for it,” Williams said. “It was just a little more concentration inside the goal.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 9:39 PM with the headline "Florida State downs Tar Heels 2-1 in women’s soccer."