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| Friday, December 5 Friday saw two semi-final shutouts Associated Press |
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CARY, N.C. -- North Carolina and Connecticut will meet in an NCAA women's soccer championship game for the fourth time after shutout semifinal victories Friday. UNC, seeking its 17th NCAA title, beat fourth-seeded UCLA 3-0, after unseeded UConn topped Florida State 2-0. North Carolina (26-0) got goals from Kendall Fletcher, Heather O'Reilly and a miscue by UCLA (20-2-3). The Tar Heels have outscored their five tournament opponents 26-0, a record. "We played as well as we possibly could in the first half," North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance said. "I never felt comfortable until that third ball crossed over that line." Kristen Graczyk scored twice off assists from Jessica Gjertsen to lead Connecticut (15-5-4) past Florida State. The Huskies lost to North Carolina in the 1984, 1990 and 1997 title games. The Tar Heels showed their power and speed early against UCLA, breaking through in the 24th minute when Alyssa Ramsey's corner kick curved around goalie Arianna Criscione. Fletcher put the ball in with her thigh. UNC made it 2-0 five minutes later when UCLA defender Kathryn Lee's pass back to Criscione went past the goalie. O'Reilly, a freshman who missed the World Cup because of a broken leg, scored her 11th goal in 11 games with four minutes left. She pounced on a loose ball just outside the penalty area and curved a right-footed shot inside the far post. In the first semifinal, Graczyk headed home a cross from Gjertsen in the 63rd minute to put the Huskies ahead. The goal came seconds after UConn's Karlyn Miselis cleared a Florida State attempt off the goal line when goalkeeper Erin Rice mishandled a corner kick. "It was kind of like a fairy-tale goal," Rice said. Graczyk scored her 20th goal of the season with her left foot from near the penalty spot after first allowing a centering pass by Gjertsen on the right wing pass between her legs to Kristin Fisher on the left side. Fisher passed back inside to Graczyk, who caught goalie Joy McKenzie off-balance. Florida State (17-8-1), making its Final Four debut, outshot UConn 19-14. |
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