No. 1-seeded UNC field hockey survives No. 5-seeded Syracuse, 3-1, in ACC semifinals

WINSTON-SALEM — No. 1-seeded North Carolina (17-0, ACC 8-0) survived No. 5-seeded Syracuse (13-6, ACC 4-4) 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon in Kentner Stadium at Wake Forest to advance to the ACC Tournament finals. The Tar Heels are in pursuit of their eighth-straight conference championship title.  

In the semifinals, UNC displayed its penalty corner prowess, with sophomore forward Charly Bruder notching two goals on these opportunities. 

North Carolina struggled to build momentum in the first quarter. Awarded three successive corners in the seventh minute, junior midfielder Sietske Brüning took all of UNC's shots from the top of the circle. However, before she could fire, Syracuse's defense broke up the attempts. The score remained notched at nil-nil by the end of the first 15 minutes. 

In the 20th minute, fifth-year back Ciana Riccardo fed the ball to Bruder, who launched a hard-hit shot down the middle, which was bounced off an Orange defender and into the top of the cage. UNC led, 1-0. 

It took eight minutes for North Carolina to build on its early advantage. On another corner opportunity, Brüning received the ball at the top of the circle, passing to senior midfielder Jasmina Smolenaars on the left. Smolenaars crossed to Bruder on the opposite side, who sliced the ball into the left corner of the cage.

"It's a sigh of relief," Bruder said.

At the end of the first half, the Tar Heels held on to a 2-0 lead. 

UNC totaled five penalty corners in the third quarter, but did not capitalize until the 34th minute. On its third try of the second half, after the initial shot was blocked, graduate midfielder Pleun Lammers grabbed the rebound from the far left post, guiding it into the goal to push UNC ahead, 3-0. 

"She was hungry for it," head coach Erin Matson said. "She was waiting for it, and she wasn't going to let anybody get in her way."

The fourth quarter slowed in pace, even as the Tar Heels dominated possession.

Then, on a fast break opportunity in the 51st minute, Syracuse's Sarah Smalley received a pass inside the circle for a one-on-one opportunity with UNC senior goalkeeper Abigail Taylor. Diving for a sweeping shot, Smalley connected with the backboards of the cage to give the Orange their first goal of the afternoon.  

Syracuse continued to pressure North Carolina's half of the field, but the UNC backline held steady, breaking up pushes into the circle and intercepting passes. The Tar Heels held onto their two-goal lead. 

"We have a lot of attack, a lot of threatening players," Matson said. "They're coming up big in these moments, in these games right now." 

With Wednesday's victory, North Carolina advances to the ACC championship game, set to kickoff on Friday at 12 p.m. The Tar Heels will play the winner of No. 2-seeded Duke and No. 3-seeded Boston College. 

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