Championship Page | Bracket
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Four different players scored for fifth-seeded North Carolina and the Tar Heels held the high-powered offense of top-seeded Virginia scoreless in a 4-0 victory on Friday afternoon at Louisville’s Trager Stadium.
With the win, North Carolina advances to Sunday’s championship game and will face the winner of Friday’s second game between Duke and Louisville. It marks the third straight year and the 24
th time in the 35 years of the ACC Championship that the Tar Heels have reached the title game.
The Tar Heel defense stymied the Virginia offense, the second-ranked scoring group in the country, for the second time this season after also winning by a 4-0 score on Oct. 6 in Charlottesville.
Virginia compiled 19 shots in the game, but North Carolina redshirt freshman Amanda Henry set a career high with 10 saves for her sixth shutout of the year.
Eef Andriessen opened the scoring for the Tar Heels midway through the first half. The sophomore converted on a second-chance opportunity and knocked in a loose ball rebound after the Virginia defense stopped the first few shots on a penalty corner.
Malin Evert gave North Carolina a two-goal edge with her 10
th of the season at the 24 minute mark, firing a low angle shot through Virginia goalkeeper Carrera Lucas’ legs.
Virginia opened the second half with a long stretch of offensive possession, outshooting the Tar Heels 8-0 in the first 13 minutes after halftime. North Carolina was finally able to break the pressure, and Marissa Creatore connected with Meredith Sholder who tallied her seventh of the season on a counter attack to push the lead to three goals.
Catherine Hayden posted her eighth goal of the season to give the Tar Heels an insurance score in the 56
th minute. Creatore drove down the right side and chipped a pass across the face of goal, and Hayden was able to chip it in on the back post.
The game was a rematch of last year’s ACC Championship Game in which Virginia defeated North Carolina, 4-2, to win the first title in program history.