Nov. 4, 2007 NEWTON, Mass. - The third-seeded Wake Forest field hockey team scored three goals, the most any opponent has scored on top-ranked North Carolina, but the No. 1 seed Tar Heels edged out the 4-3 victory in overtime to capture the 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Sunday afternoon at Newton Campus Turf Field. North Carolina's Rachel Dawson scored the game-winner for North Carolina with a penalty stroke goal in overtime. "I think it was a great match-up today," Wake Forest head coach Jennifer Averill said. "I'm really proud of the team. I think we are one of the best teams in the country." Wake Forest opened the scoring at 14:44 when senior forward Chelsea Cipriani deflected a Liz Fries shot over North Carolina goalkeeper Brianna O'Donnell. The early goal marked the first time all season that the No.1 Tar Heels had not scored first. But the lead would not last long when UNC tied it at 1-all less than four minutes later, when Danielle Forword scored on a reverse-stick shot. North Carolina continued to pressure the Demon Deacons, but incredible defensive saves by Liz Fries and Aileen Davis kept the scored knotted at one. Wake Forest took the lead, 2-1, at the 32:50 mark when Fries rocketed a shot off a penalty corner. Melissa Martin and Michelle Kasold were credited with assists. North Carolina would once again equalize the score with a goal at the 40:13 mark when Dawson's shot off a corner snuck past Wake goalkeeper Crystal Duffield.
The two ACC foes would trade shots over the next 20 minutes as Duffield made three saves to help keep the score tied at 2-all. The Deacs took the lead for a third time when Fries struck again on a corner at 62:07. However, North Carolina answered with its third game-tying goal on a corner less than three minutes later. As both teams fought to score the game-winner, regulation ended to send the ACC title game into overtime. The Tar Heels took possession to open the overtime period and after two UNC shots were saved, Dawson received a penalty stroke after her shot was deflected by a Deacon player's foot. With the stroke, Dawson clinched the title for the Tar Heels beating Duffield with a shot to the goal's right corner. Defense proved to be a significant factor in the game as North Carolina out-shot Wake 20-9, including a 12-5 advantage on shots on goal. Duffield recorded six saves in the game and Fries led the Deacs with five points, including two goals and one assist. Kasold and Davis were named to the All-Tournament Team. Wake Forest will now wait to learn where they will play the first two rounds of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship. Selections for the NCAA Tournament, which will begin next Saturday, November 10, will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 8 p.m.
ACC Championship All-Tournament Team Julia Berkowitz, Shayna McGeehan, Duke Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn, Traci Ragukas, Janneke van Leeuwen, Katie O'Donnell, Aileen Davis, Michelle Kasold, Danielle Forword, Laree Beans, Rachel Dawson, ACC Championship MVP Rachel Dawson, ACC Freshman of the Year Katelyn Falgowski,
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