Women's soccer - on the way to another ACC Championship!

In case you missed the first match, the Heels played and beat the Terps of Maryland for the second time in less than a week in the first round of the ACC Championship on Wednesday night in WakeMed Park in Cary! The score last weekend was 1-0, but this time the Heels attacked, attacked, attacked and won the match 3-0 to advance to the semifinals against Boston College. The Eagles played Virginia also on Wednesday night and beat the Wahoos on penalty kicks after two scoreless "sudden victory" overtime periods.

On Friday night, the Heels repeatedly attacked the Eagles goal with no success. Both periods and the first overtime saw the women "attack and miss," "attack and miss," attack and miss," etc. Talk about frustration! One must give the Eagle goalie credit for multiple saves, but many of the Tar Heel shots were just a hair too high or a hair too wide, but the women persisted in attacking. It was women's soccer at its best. For all of us who were there watching, the frustration finally came to an end in the 3rd minute of the second overtime when Casey Nogueira, last year's national player of the year, scored the winning goal. Many of the near misses earlier in the game were Casey's, but she got it done when it mattered most! If you don't know, Casey is one of 6 players from North Carolina on Coach Dorrance's team.

So the Heels advance to the ACC Championship Women's Soccer finals - a place they are very accustomed to being at the end of the regular season. The opponent this year is Florida State. Maybe you'll remember that the Seminoles beat the Heels a couple of weeks ago in Tallahassee. The Seminoles beat the Hokies of Virginia Tech in the first game on Friday. The Hokies also beat the Heels this season. To say that the Heels owe Florida State a whipping is a major understatement.

What are you doing on Sunday afternoon? There is no better place to be than in the seats at WakeMed Park in Cary cheering for the Heels! The match begins at 2pm and will determine the 2009 ACC Women's Soccer Champion. In case you haven't seen the weather forecast, the prediction is for a sunny afternoon with temperatures in the mid-70's - an incredible fall afternoon. The women need you there to cheer them on. Few of us could be in Tallahassee to help them when they played on October 22, but the Seminoles are on our turf this time. Yep, it will cost you a few bucks to see the game, but you'll be very glad that you were there! See you Sunday! GO HEELS!