Nov. 5, 2004

2004 ACC Field Hockey Championship Central

Winston-Salem, NC - The top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the No. 4 seeded Wake Forest field hockey team 2-1 in overtime on Friday night in ACC semifinal action. With the win, North Carolina advances to face Maryland in the ACC Championship game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

Just four minutes into the game Wake Forest's Kelly Dostal intercepted a Tar Heel cross in front of the circle, which resulted in a corner for the Deacs. Receiving the stop, Dostal took a strong shot that was tipped in by Claire Laubach, putting the Demon Deacons up 1-0. The goal for Laubach is her eighth of the season, while the assist for Dostal is her 17th.

North Carolina brought the ball back down into Deacon territory just over a minute later, and was rewarded with a corner, but a defensive save by Demon Deacon Maeke Boreel kept the ball from hitting the boards. Going up and down the field for the remainder of the half, Wake was able to gain two more corners and six shots, including four by Dostal, but none of them resulted in points for the Deacs.

In the opening minutes of the second half, the Deacs immediately brought the ball into North Carolina territory, with Tamar Meijer almost finding the back of the cage, but a defensive save by Katy Potter kept the Deacs from extending their lead. A corner for the Tar Heels opened the door and a shot by Kerry Falgowski knotted the score at one all. The shot for the Tar Heels was the first of the second half and fifth of the game.

With eight minutes remaining, Carolina once again brought the ball back into the Deacon circle, but Laubach was able to drive the ball back out momentarily. A corner by the Tar Heels gave them another shot with seven minutes left, but a diving save by Kristina Gagliardi and pressure from Jamie Whitten kept UNC from scoring. Holding onto possession, UNC created three back to back shots, but the Wake defense was able to block them and bring it back out. Driving into the other half of the field, Wake was able to keep the ball out of the circle for the reminder of regulation to take the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, North Carolina jumped on the attack and immediately brought the ball into the Deacon circle. The Deacons took control and drove downfield. A cross by Scott to Boreel gave Wake the first shot of the overtime period. After a foul inside the circle on UNC, the Deacs took a corner and a shot by Dostal deflected off the keepers foot to fly just over the top rail of the cage. Bringing the ball back down in to Deacon territory, Kelsey Keeran found a shot but an outstanding diving save by Gagliardi kept the Deacs alive. With four minutes left, a 16-yard free hit into the circle by Carolina resulted in a shot by Keeran that made it into the cage, ending the game. Rachel Dawson was credited with the assist on the game-winning goal.

In earlier semifinal action Friday, Maryland defeated Duke, 3-2. The Terps and the Tarheels will face off in the Championship match on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Tar Heels have not been to the finals of the ACC Tournament since 1997, also their last ACC Title. 1996 marked the last time that Carolina and Maryland met in the finals, resulting in a 4-0 Tarheel win.