UNC women's soccer defeats Virginia Tech in ACC quarterfinals

CARY, N.C. ­— Twenty-two seconds after the whistle shrilled to begin the ACC Tournament quarterfinal match between first-seeded North Carolina and Virginia Tech, the Tar Heels collected their first goal.

“We started off strong; we definitely did,” freshman Crystal Dunn said. “We were pressuring them, and we felt confident definitely in the first couple minutes of this game.”

Freshman Kealia Ohai’s goal immediately set the tone, and the Tar Heels rolled to a 4-2 victory at WakeMed Soccer Park.

“I would love to pretend it was some sort of design, but it wasn’t,” coach Anson Dorrance said. “We have some quality players, and one of them is Kealia Ohai.

“Oh, it was just an exquisite finish. We certainly didn’t think then the game was over, but it’s certainly nice to be up a goal in our game.”

Dunn added a second goal in the 26th minute to give the Tar Heels a 2-0 halftime lead.

Eighth-seeded Virginia Tech’s closest first-half scoring opportunity was a quick attack by Marika Gray that caught UNC goalkeeper Hannah Daly unprepared and off the line. The shot went wide right of the net and the Hokies remained scoreless.

Despite the close call, Dorrance was pleased with Daly’s first-half performance.

“Hannah is an outstanding athlete, and she’s becoming a better and better goalkeeper,” Dorrance said.

Shortly after halftime, Meg Morris made it three freshmen in a row to score for the Tar Heels.

Emmalie Pfankuch extended the Tar Heel lead to 4-0 with less than 20 minutes on the clock.

The junior forward fought one-on-one with a VT defender in the box. The moment Pfankuch got control of the ball, she crushed it into the top-right corner of the net for her second goal of the season.

Suddenly the match got closer. VT responded to Pfankuch’s goal three minutes later. A breakdown in communication between UNC defenders led to the Hokies’ first goal. Moments after that, VT netted its second goal by lofting a shot over outstretched keeper Daly.

Dorrance took responsibility for the Virginia Tech goals and attributed them to a coaching mistake.

“My poor management skills jumped in, and all of a sudden, it was a game,” Dorrance said. “I shouldn’t have subbed that early, and all of a sudden VT was back in it. Even in the closing minutes we were in a bit of a panic as we were trying to survive their adrenaline.”

UNC (17-2-1, 8-2 ACC) is vying for its 21st ACC title and has taken the first step by eliminating the Hokies from ACC Tournament play.

The Tar Heels had 12 shots in the game, scoring an impressive 33 percent shooting percentage.

“Beating a very combative VT team, honestly, I thought we were playing very well, finishing some wonderful chances,” Dorrance said.

The Tar Heels will face Wake Forest in the semifinals on Friday.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.