WINSTON-SALEM — As her 88th minute shot trickled over the end line to draw North Carolina even against Wake Forest, Meghan Klingenberg nearly leapt out of the stadium, her head soaring above the rest of her UNC teammates as they swarmed her in celebration.
About 30 minutes later, Klingenberg could scarcely be seen, her 5-foot-2 frame buried amidst a huddle of consoling teammates as the Tar Heels solemnly marched off the pitch following their 5-4 defeat in Friday’s penalty shoot-out.
Klingenberg registered the lone miss of the penalty kick round, clanging UNC’s second attempt off the post. Shortly thereafter, Wake Forest’s Amanda Howell netted the decisive fifth penalty for the Demon Deacons, leaving Klingenberg, a senior captain, to take responsibility for UNC’s first absence from the ACC final in the tournament’s 23-year history.
“I’ll definitely take the blame on that one,” Klingenberg said.
Ironically, Klingenberg was credited with preserving the Tar Heels’ championship hopes late in regulation.
Down 1-0 with less than three minutes remaining, UNC’s sputtering attack appeared incapable of scoring, relying rather on optimistic long balls.
“It was like a baseball player. His team is down in a game, and everyone that comes to the plate is trying to hit a home run,” UNC coach Anson Dorrance said. “Everyone’s trying to hit a final pass. Out of the back, out of midfield, we’re just whacking balls, hoping that something will skip through, and I think we lost our rhythm.”
But in the 88th minute, Klingenberg and Ali Hawkins connected to keep the Tar Heels alive. After Kelly McFarlane burst free down the right sideline and swung a cross into the six-yard box, Hawkins nodded the ball to Klingenberg, who tapped it home.
But UNC failed to score during overtime despite numerous chances, and Klingenberg was again thrust into the spotlight as UNC’s second penalty-taker.
