Photo: Dylan Ribott/College Soccer News
By Billy McGee | @iambillymcgee
The stage is set for the ACC Women’s Soccer Final with the Virginia Cavaliers and the North Carolina Tar Heels facing off for the conference title and an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.
Virginia defeated the No. 1 seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1-0 in the first semifinal match behind a goal from sophomore forward Addison Halpern and a clean sheet kept by the Cavaliers defense with senior goalkeeper Victoria Safradin between the sticks. The lone goal of the match came when Virginia triggered their press, winning the ball back in a high area with Halpern staying composed and slotting the ball away. Perhaps the most crucial play of the game came on what appeared to be a surefire goalscoring opportunity for Notre Dame when fifth year defender Faith Broering came in to make a last second tackle to prevent what would have been a tap-in goal to tie the game.
In the second semifinal, North Carolina defeated their rival Duke Blue Devils 1-0 with the only goal of the game being scored by standout sophomore forward Bella Devey. Devey, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, got on the end of a long ball and was left one-on-one with the goalkeeper, putting the ball in the bottom right corner for her 17th goal of the season. The Tar Heels held on from there, to earn their spot in the ACC Championship Game.
The Tarheels and Cavaliers played each other once already this year, with the Tar Heels coming away with a 3-1 win on the road in Charlottesville on September 25. North Carolina got out to a 3-0 lead with Devey scoring a brace for the first two and Summer Denigan added the third on a penalty kick. Virginia’s goal also came from a penalty, with Halpern being the taker.
Like the semifinals, the final will also be played at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, kicking off at noon today.
ACC Men’s Soccer Final
The ACC Men’s Soccer Final is set with North Carolina taking on the defending champion SMU.
In the first semifinal game, the Tar Heels took down instate rivals, NC State, 1-0. The match was an aggressive one, with the teams combining for 37 fouls, one of which resulted in a yellow card being shown. UNC scored the game’s only goal in the 63rd minute with a stunner of a goal on the volley for his 17th of the season. After the final whistle, goalkeeper Alan Rutkowski celebrated towards the NC State student section, resulting in a couple NC State players running over towards him and getting into an altercation.
Video of altercation: https://www.instagram.com/p/DfqaPGjxBY_
SMU’s semifinal against Syracuse was more eventful on the field, with SMU playing on the front foot for most of the game and coming away with a 3-0 win as they remain unbeaten this season. For most of the first half, the Mustangs weren’t able to find a goal, but a penalty scored by Mukisa Emmanuel in the 44th minute gave them the 1-0 lead going into half. They extended their lead to 2-0 in the 55th minute with a goal from Andre Philibbosian and again in the 66th minute to make it 3-0 with a banger of a goal from outside the box by Stephan Soghomonian.
The matchup between the two teams will be their first this year, as they weren’t scheduled to face each other in regular season play. The game will be today at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park with kickoff scheduled for 4:00 P.M.
