After a six-year absence, North Carolina is back in the ACC Tournament final thanks to a 2-1 win over top-seed Notre Dame. The Tar Heels will face Florida State on Sunday at MUSC Health Stadium inCharleston, South Carolina.
Annie Kingman scored on a pass from ACC Freshman of the Year Bridgette Andrzejewski to lift the fourth-seeded Tar Heels past the Irish.
“I saw Bridgette moving down the line, and nine times out of 10 she is going to beat her defender,” Kingman said. “So I just tried to get in the box, get in good position and keepthe shot low and on frame.”
The Tar Heels, who avenged a 1-0 loss to the Fighting Irish during the regular season, had captured 20 of the first 22 ACC championships and reached thefinals every year from 1988 through 2009.
UNC defender Maya Worth‘s goal gave the Tar Heels a 1-0 edge until the halftime break, but Notre Dame tied the score with just under 19minutes remaining on Kaleigh Olmstead‘s fourth goal of the season and the first surrendered by the Tar Heels in their last three matches.
“Of course, it was deflating,but this group of girls has so much fight in them,” Kingman said. “We just scrap and fight for every goal we get. If you look at our goals throughout the season, some of them are pretty,but most of them are just the result of hard efforts.”