No. 2 seed UNC women's soccer shuts down No. 1 seed Duke, 3-0, advancing to NCAA championship

CARY — No. 2 seed UNC women's soccer (21-5, 7-3 ACC) overpowered the No. 1-seeded Duke Blue Devils (18-3-1, 9-0-1 ACC), 3-0, in the College Cup semifinals at WakeMed Soccer Park on Friday night. 

Led by forwards Kate Faasse, Olivia Thomas and Maddie Dahlien who each tallied a goal, North Carolina defeated the Blue Devils for the second time in the post season after winning in the ACC tournament semifinals in early November. The two rivals have played each other four times this year with the Blue Devils winning twice in the regular season. The Blue Devils tallied eight more shots and six more corner opportunities than UNC throughout the match. Following Faasse's goal, the junior became the nation's leading goal scorer in Division I women's soccer.

The Tar Heels found their opportunity as early as the 10th minute. After Dahlien drew a penalty in the box, Faasse took it. Faasse sat behind the ball for five seconds before rocketing it into the upper right side of the net. 

Up 1-0, the Blue Devils worked to find the equalizer. Through the opening 20 minutes of play, Duke outshot the Tar Heels 5-3 with three of the attempts being on goal. Even as the shots kept coming, UNC's backline held strong. 

In the 22nd minute, North Carolina received its first corner kick opportunity. First-year midfielder Linda Ullmark narrowly missed the goal, but the failed opportunity was overlooked four minutes later. 

First-year midfielder Bella Gaetino played a perfect pass to a lone Thomas on the other half of the field. As Duke goalkeeper Leah Freeman inched out of the goal looking to stop the effort, the sophomore forward outran her defender placing the ball into the lower right side of the net.

Both teams continued to trade the ball with Duke receiving its best look of the night in the 22nd minute. The Blue Devils narrowly missed the goal on a free kick opportunity. 

The Tar Heels exited the first half with a 2-0 advantage, even after recording less shots and fewer shots on goal. Graduate goalkeeper Clare Gagne notched five saves. 

Coming into the second half, North Carolina put the game further out of the reach of the Blue Devils in the 59th minute.

Faasse received the ball from Thomas at the right corner of the box. Faasse played a cross to Dahlien who took a touch around her defender. The junior moved to the right and weaved the ball through traffic to push Duke's deficit to three. 

Although the Blue Devils outshot the Tar Heels 4-1 in a second half without much offensive production, Duke could not claw its way back into the game. 

The Tar Heels will advance to the NCAA tournament game at 7 p.m. where they will take on No. 2 seed Wake Forest at WakeMed Soccer Park.

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