Soccer Defeated At UNC In ACC Championship – Seminoles.com

CARY, N.C. – Snapping its ACC Championship unbeaten streak at 10 matches, No. 23 Florida State (11-6-1) was defeated by a score of 2-1 on Sunday afternoon by No. 4 North Carolina (13-2-2) in the quarterfinals of the 2017 ACC Women’s Soccer Championship.

The Seminoles are now 9-8-4 all-time in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Championship, but have lost for just the second time under current head coach Mark Krikorian. The only other quarterfinal loss came in a 3-1 defeat to Wake Forest in 2010.

“I’m really proud of the effort that our kids put in,” said Krikorian. “It’s been a long road, with a lot of games on the road, and going up to play at Clemson to end the season and then having to travel over her to play a very good Carolina team, that’s a hard call. Two very good teams on a weekend, and looking over the rest of the ACC schedule, it’s been very competitive. You know, Carolina was better than us today and deserved to win. Good luck to them going forward in the ACC Tournament and beyond.”

The Seminoles had extended possessions in the early going of the first half, and earned four corner kicks in the first six minutes, but North Carolina was able to clear or block away each attempt without FSU getting a shot.

UNC scored the first goal of the match in the 15th minute as Julia Ashley sent a cross into the six-yard for Bridgette Andrzejewski. The sophomore headed it toward the goal, and FSU goalkeeper Cassie Miller saved it away, however, Zoe Redei beat the Seminole defenders to the rebound and scored her first goal of the season to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead.

Florida State freshman Anna Patten made a pair of defensive team saves in the 41st minute after Miller dove to deflect away a crossing attempt. UNC was able to take shots by Kate Morris and Ashley, but Patten blocked them off the line to maintain the 1-0 score going into halftime.

UNC’s Andrzejewski was taken down in the box in the 53rd minute, awarding a penalty kick to the Tar Heels. Taylor Otto converted the PK to give North Carolina a 2-0 lead.

Freshman Adrienne Richardson helped initiate the only FSU goal of the match, deflecting a ball toward Deyna Castellanos in the midfield. The sophomore slid a perfect pass into Dallas Dorosy, splitting the UNC defenders at the top of the box, and Dorosy slotted the ball into the net to make it 2-1 UNC at 56:19.

There was significant rain over the final 20 minutes that made playing conditions challenging as the Noles looked to equalize the match, but both teams continued to play at a high level until the final whistle.

The Noles earned a free kick near midfield in the 82nd minute, and Castellanos sent a quality service into the penalty box, but it was headed away by the UNC defense. It started a counterattack by UNC’s Andrzejewski through the middle of the field. She was able to work into position at the top of the box, but a sliding block by Castellanos stopped her shot and the threat.

Florida State had one final chance with a corner kick in the 89th minute, and Madisyn Pezzino’s service into the box found Patten, but the freshman’s header was blocked by a UNC defender and cleared.

Next up for the Seminoles will be the 2017 NCAA Championship, with the first round of games starting on Friday, November 10. The NCAA Selection Show will be on Monday, November 6 at 4:30 p.m. ET, and the broadcast will be streamed on NCAA.com.

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UNC 2 – FSU 1 Box Score (PDF)