Semifinals set for ACC Women’s Soccer Championship
CARY, N.C. – The semifinals for the 2020 ACC Women’s Soccer Championship are set, as top-seeded Florida State will battle fifth-seeded Duke and second-seeded North Carolina will take on third-seeded Virginia.
The Seminoles and Blue Devils will play in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. The second semifinal features the Tar Heels against the Cavaliers at 8 p.m., a rematch of the 2019 ACC Championship Final.
Friday’s winners will play on Sunday, Nov. 15, at noon for the ACC Championship. Both semifinals will air live on ACC Network, while the final will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
Florida State was the first team to claim its spot in the semifinals thanks to a 2-0 victory against Notre Dame. Jaelin Howell put the Seminoles on the scoreboard in the 45th minute with her third goal of the season, as she found the back of the net off a corner kick from Jenna Nighswonger. FSU has scored first in all nine games this season.
After leading 1-0 at the half, Clara Robbins made it a 2-0 lead for Florida State with a strike from just outside the box in the 78th minute. The shutout gives Florida State seven through nine games this season.
In the second quarterfinal matchup, Duke edged Clemson, 1-0, thanks to a goal from Karlie Paschall in the 51st minute. After receiving a pass from teammate Emily Royson, Paschall drove down the right side of the pitch, blasting a shot in between the goalkeeper and the near post to log her first goal since 2018.
The match was tightly contested throughout, as the Blue Devils held a narrow 8-7 margin on shots and a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal.
North Carolina punched its ticket to the semifinals after defeating Virginia Tech, 1-0. The Tar Heels’ Sam Meza found Emily Fox who served a beautiful ball into the box for a Brianna Pinto header. Pinto scored the match’s lone goal in the 26th minute.
UNC held the edge in shots, with a 17-3 advantage, but Louisville had two shots on goal to just one for North Carolina.
Our best moments from tonight's victory ?
?️ HIGHLIGHTS: ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/9zs7FoUy2r— UNC Women's Soccer (@uncwomenssoccer) November 11, 2020
In the final game of the day, Virginia sophomore Diana Ordonez logged just the fifth hat trick in ACC Tournament history to lead the Cavaliers to a 4-1 win against Louisville. The Proper, Texas, native scored a pair of goals in the first half before adding a third in the second, as she tallied the first hat trick in an ACC Tournament game since 2004.
Emina Ekic cut the Louisville deficit to 2-1 with a goal just before halftime on a beautiful set piece. UVA’s Alexa Spaanstra notched her seventh goal of the season to make it a 4-1 advantage.
The Cavaliers held a 21-8 advantage on shots with a 7-4 clip in shots on goal.
The semifinals feature four top-10 teams in this week’s United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, including top-ranked North Carolina, No. 2 Florida State, No. 6 Duke and No. 9 Virginia.
