Finals Recap
UNC continued their perfect campaign with a 3-2 win over UVA in the ACC finals.
Within the first few seconds of the game, UVA was in their offensive circle trying to make something happen. Despite the early pressure, UNC's press was able to get the ball back to the other side of the field. The ball moved in and out of UNC's offensive 25 for the next few minutes of the game as UVA tried to work its way down the sideline. On Carolina's first corner of the game, Lisa Slinkert picked up a rebound and reverse it past the goalie. UVA then worked towards their circle but was not able to come up with anything.
With some beautiful plays from UNC in the first few minutes of the second, the UVA defense was tested and did well to stay in the game. Matson then picked up a corner for UNC off a playing-from-behind call. UNC received another corner directly afterwords which resulted in a turnover that ended in the UVA circle. A little later, another corner was called for UNC because a UVA player intentionally hit the ball over the backline. The ball went high and was turnover to UVA. UVA started to put more offensive pressure on but was unsuccessful in doing much in the circle. With under a minute left, UNC called a video review for a foot in the circle and received a corner for it. This video would later be a crucial score, as Ryleigh Heck tipped in the shot from Sietske Bruning making the score 2-0.
UNC did a great job on press against UVA, making them constantly have to transfer at the beginning of the third. Most attempts to hit a big ball resulted in UNC coming up with the ball. UVA stayed patient, making small progress up the line and using purposeful fouls to their advantage. UNC took their time on outletting and made sure to look to the other side of the field to find the space. UVA had a good play to get into their offensive 23 with under a minute left, and were able to draw a corner. The corner was then taken back through a video review.
UVA felt the pressure in the fourth and started to play with more hunger than before. Annie McDonuogh was in the right place as the ball passed through a defender and the goalie, she was left with an open net and made the score 2-1. UNC immediately went back to their circle and picked up a corner, which went wide. They then got another corner after a video review. This one was passed back to the inserter but was scooped over the net. UVA then came back with offensive pressure, trying to get a tip by pelting big balls in. After a couple of minutes of mid-field play, Matson was able to get another corner for the Tar Heels. The ball went off a UVA body, resulting in another corner. This one was slipped right and had a few rebound shots, but Jet Trimborn was not letting any in. UNC then got a card, and while their numbers were down UVA picked up a corner and then another. With 3 minutes on the clock, UNC ran down the baseline and Ryleigh Heck scored on an open net. With under 2 left, UVA got a corner, and Laura Janssen was able to tip it in. UVA pulled their goal for a final push for another goal but was not able to find it.
UNC won the ACC tournament for the 6th year in a row and will gain an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The NCAA tournament selection show will be held on Sunday night.
Finals Preview
UVA and UNC will face each other on Friday at 2 pm.
UNC
How they got here: UNC will come into this game undefeated. They went 15-0 in the regular season, and are now 16-0 after beating Syracuse. They currently are outscoring their opponents 64-14.
Key Players:
You can't talk about UNC without talking about Erin Matson. The graduate student from Pennsylvania is the ACC's first five-time conference Player of the year. She currently has 83 points for the season, with 22 goals and 8 assists. She has the highest goals per game in the country, with 1.4 goals per game. She is also 4-4 for strokes this year.
Ryleigh Heck has had an impressive freshman campaign. The Freshman of the year has scored 14 goals and had 2 assists.
On the other end of the field, Meredith Shoulder is a wall in the defense. She was awarded the ACC Defensive player of the year.
In goal, Abigal Taylor and Kylie Walbert have split time. In Taylor's 506 minutes of play, has let in 8 goals. She posts a .742 save percentage. Walbert has 450 minutes in the goal. She has let in 7 goals, giving her a .731 save percentage.
UVA
How they got here: UVA went 11-6 this season and 3-3 in the ACC. All their losses come against ranked teams. They outscored their opponents 35-23 in the regular season.
They played Louisville in the quarterfinals and won 1-0. In the semifinals, they came from behind and then went into overtime with Wake Forest but scored in the first minute of extra play to win.
Key Players:
Annie McDonough leads the team in assists with 6 and came up big in the Wake Forest game, scoring her second goal of the season. The midfielder's stats might not seem impressive, but McDonough is a playmaker on the field and is one to watch.
Laura Janssen leads the team in goals with 10. She averages 2.67 shots per game. Janssen was named to the All-ACC First team.
Daniela Mendez-Trendler rounds out the offensive. The freshman has had 8 goals and 3 assists this year, for a total of 19 points. She was named to the All-ACC First team.
In goal is freshman Jet Trimborn from the Netherlands. She has just under 800 minutes for the season. She has had a total of 14 goals against her, posting 5 shutouts. Her save percentage is 0.702 going into the finals.
Matchup History
UNC leads the all-time series, 32-6. They currently have a 12-game winning streak that started back in 2015.
The last time these teams saw each other was on October 21st. UNC won 3-1, with two goals from Matson and one from Siestske Bruning. Janssen scored the lone goal for UVA. UNC led in shots 13-11, but the teams tied in corners.
Based on the seven matches between the teams, there is a 77% chance UNC will win the ACC tournament.
Semifinals Recap
Syracuse vs. UNC
The numbers were correct in predicting that UNC would win. The Tar Heels made the ACC finals, after beating the Orange 2-1.
The first half left a blank scoreboard, but it was not a quiet half for the goalies. UNC pelted Brooke Borzymowski with 7 shots in the first half. She came up big with 3 saves to keep them scoreless. On the other side of the field, Kylie Walbert made one save for the Heels, from Cuse's 2 shots.
After a corner and three shots by UNC in the first, Erin Matson converted on a penalty stroke in her 21st goal of the season. UNC had 5 shots in the third-quarter, and Borzymowki posted 2 saves.
Seconds into the final quarter Ryleigh Heck scored off a corner, with an assist from Sietske Bruning.
Syracuse made one final push with 4 shots. Abigail Taylor had entered the game in the third and stopped one of Syracuse's shots. Syracuse's effort resulted in a goal from Joy Haarman, assisted by Charlotte de Vries.
Despite pulling their goalie in the final 3 minutes of the game, Syracuse could not come up with a second goal.
UNC will move on to play in the finals, while Syracuse will wait to hear if they grabbed one of the at-large spots in the NCAA tournament.
Wake Forest vs. UVA
It was looking like the numbers were going to be wrong in predicting that UVA would win until the 58th minute when Virginia tied the game.
The first quarter of the game was quiet offensively, with one shot from UVA being the only stat.
In the 20th minute of the game, Meike Lanckohr connected with Immie Gillgrass to put Wake Forest on the board. Wake posted three shots in the quarter, while UVA posted none.
UVA picked up the pressure in the third making Ellie Todd pick up a save after they had four shots. Despite the offensive effort from the Cavaliers, Rachel Thetford scored her second goal of the season to put Wake Forest up 2-0. Annie McDonough quickly answered to put UVA on the board.
With a 2-1 score and under two minutes left in the game, Taryn Tkachuk found the back of the net to tie the game up.
UVA did not want to give Wake Forest any time in the extra period. Just over a minute in, Annie McDonough found Adele Iacobucci inside the circle and scored the game-winner.
UVA will move on to the finals, while Wake Forest waits to hear if they won an at-large bid.
Semifinals Preview
Syracuse vs. UNC
The last matchup between the Orange and the Tar Heels was a 6-1 win in favor of the Tar Heels.
Historically, UNC has won 16 matches and Syracuse has won 7. In the last 7 matches, Syracuse has only won once, coming on October 1, 2021, in a 5-0 win.
Based on the 7 matches played since October 12, 2019, UNC has a 61.6% chance of winning the game.
Wake Forest vs. UVA
The last game between the Cavaliers and the Deacs was a 1-0 win in favor of Wake Forest.
Historically, Wake Forest has won 16 games and UVA has won 14. In the last 10 games, UVA has won 7 of the games.
Based on the 7 matches played between the two teams since November 1, 2019, UVA has a 57.5% chance of winning the game.
Quarterfinals Recap
Quarterfinals started on November 1st, with games between Syracuse and Boston College, Duke and Wake Forest, and Louisville and UVA.
Moving on to the semifinals are Syracuse, Wake Forest, and UVA, which will be played today (11/2).
Syracuse vs. Boston.
As Syracuse originally labeled their Instagram caption, they "shipped them back to Boston".
Autumn Littlefield scored the first goal of the game for BC in the 5th minute of the game. Quirine Comans answered in the 13th minute to tie the game going into the second quarter. During the first quarter, Syracuse had 8 shots and BC had 5. For corners, Syracuse had two, and BC did not have any.
In the second quarter, Charlotte de Vries put Syracuse up 2-1. Milagros Arteta quickly evened the score back to 2-2. Syracuse outshot BC 7-4 and led in corners 3-0.
Syracuse kept BC off the board for the remainder of the game. Eefke vd Nieuwenhof, Joy Haarman, Comans, and Willemijn Boogert all scored in the second half of the game for the Orange. Syracuse outshot BC 9-6, but Boston made up for their lack of corners in the first half, with 7 to Syracuse's 2.
Syracuse will play UNC in Semifinals.
Duke vs. Wake Forest
Despite Duke coming into this game in 7th in the ACC, they put up a good fight against Wake Forest who was in 2nd.
The loan goal of Wake's 1-0 win, came from Meike Lanckohr in the 28th minute.
In shots, the game was fairly even, with Duke outshooting Wake 7-6.
In goal, Piper Hampsch had one save for Duke and Ellie Todd had one save for Wake Forest.
Wake Forest plays UVA in Semifinals.
Louisville vs. UVA
The game only saw one goal, coming in the first quarter from Taryn Tkachuk for UVA.
UVA had four cards against them in the game, with 3 being yellow and 1 being red. This means that UVA played ~18% of the game with a player down.
Despite UVA playing down, Jet Trimborn was a beast in goal with 5 saves. Louisville had 13 shots during the game, while UVA only had 4. Louisville also left in corners with 5-2.
UVA plays Wake Forest in Semifinals.