Virginia Advances to Championship Game; Downs UNC 1-0

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The third-ranked Virginia field hockey team advanced to the title game of the 2009 ACC Championship with a 1-0 win over second-ranked North Carolina Friday at UVa's Turf Field. Freshman Charlotte van den Broek recorded her first career goal in the victory.

The Cavaliers (18-2) advance to the championship game of the conference tournament for the first time since 2000, facing top-ranked Maryland at noon Sunday in a game that will be broadcast on RSN. Virginia has never won the tournament crown.

"Anytime you host a tournament you want to be in the final," Virginia head coach Michele Madison said. "To be in the championship game in a conference like this is a great accomplishment for our team. They really held strong and stuck to the game plan. They believed they could beat UNC and they did it."

The UVa defense was solid, recording its 11th shutout behind junior goalie Kim Kastuk, who recorded nine saves in the contest.

"Kim promised me a shutout," Madison said.

North Carolina (16-2) outshot Virginia 14-6, including 4-1 in the second stanza. The Tar Heels also posted eight penalty corners to three for the Orange and Blue.

Van den Broek's score came at 27:37 on a UVa penalty corner. The Nijmegen, Netherlands native injected the ball into Traci Ragukas, who set up the ball for sophomore Inga Stockel. Stockel's shot was saved by UNC goalkeeper Jackie Kintzer, but van den Broek rebounded the ball and put it in the cage for the 1-0 lead.

"We had to be patient," Madison said. "We made some adjustments on corners for various reasons. Charlotte was able to put it away."

The Tar Heels pulled Kintzer in the 59th minute out of a timeout. With an extra man, North Carolina kept up the offensive pressure and had three penalty corners in the second half, including one that was awarded after time had expired.

The ball was injected with UNC's Melanie Brill taking the shot, but the ball was saved by Kastuk as the game came to a close.

Maryland, unbeaten on the season at 19-0, held off fourth-seeded Wake Forest 3-2 in the first semifinal game Friday to advance to the championship game. The Terps claimed the ACC crown a year ago before going on to win the NCAA title.