By JOHN BOSCHINI
Boston College continued their unexpected charge into the ACC finals while North Carolina continued to look like a national title contender as the semifinals of the ACC wrapped up on a chilly night in Cary, NC.
North Carolina finally took advantage of a number of gilt-edged chances less than two minutes into the first overtime period to claim a 1-0 victory over a physical Virginia team. Billy Schuler proved once again how valuable he is to the North Carolina setup, turning in Robbie Lovejoy's cross past a helpless Spencer LaCivita.
Boston College denied Duke a chance to revitalize the notorious "Tobacco Road Rivalry" with a 2-1 comeback victory over the Blue Devils. Goals from Amit Aburmad and Diego Medina-Mende saved BC's blushes after Justin Luthy's spilled corner kick led to Nat Eggleston's opening goal. British goalkeeper James Belshaw impressed in the loss, making several fine saves as Duke's back line faltered.
It was the second upset of the tournament for the seventh-seeded Eagles, who downed Maryland in the quarterfinals. It's the first final for Boston College since 2007 when they defeated Wake Forest.
UNC and BC meet at noon on Sunday in the ACC Final at WakeMed Soccer Park, with the winner claiming an automatic ticket into the NCAA tournament.
The first half was dominated by the top-seed as North Carolina registered eight shots as opposed to only one for Virginia.It was a game in which Virginia star Brian Span was largely invisible and Virginia was unable to create many chances from open play, registering only four shots and forcing zero saves from UNC keeper Scott Goodwin.
The first chance of the contest came in the first 10 minutes when Ben Speas flashed his shot over the crossbar. UNC should have been ahead in the 16th minute after Kirk Urso failed to finish off a well-worked passing sequence between Enzo Martinez, Lovejoy and Martin Murphy. Virginia showed their danger on set-pieces when a corner kick on the 33rd minute led to a mad scramble in front of goal but Scott Goodwin managed to keep the game scoreless.
The second half was much of the same as North Carolina had the majority of chances but were wasteful in front of goal. Schuler, who came on in the second half due to a nagging injury, made an immediate impact on Carolina's offense. Kirk Urso's deft volley from outside the box clanged off the crossbar in UNC's closest chance of regulation. The Heels had come close just minutes earlier when LaCivita pulled off a great save on Lovejoy and Jordan Gafa's last-ditch blocked preserved the deadlock. UNC registered 21 shots in the opening 90 minutes but it was the 22nd that saw them safely into Sunday's finals.
The first half of Duke vs. Boston College featured a much more even offensive display as both team's goalkeepers were called upon repeatedly. Luthy's mistake didn't prevent the Irish goalkeeper from tipping Andrew Morales' blooping header over the bar. Then, in the 22nd minute, Boston College's offense suddenly woke up. Bekker forced an incredible save from Belshaw as the Ontario native saw his free kick tipped on to the crossbar. Aburmad's cross was smothered two minutes later but he wouldn't be denied again and his header found the back of the net in the 25th minute. Duke almost retook the lead before the half-hour but Palodichuk's shot skimmed the crossbar.
The second half started at a slower pace with the only chances involving Diego Medina-Menda's low shot being smothered by Belshaw and a Blue Devil cross skidding through the box untouched. The winner came in the 66th minute when Medina-Mende found space at the near post and turned Bekker's corner past Belswich.
Duke desperately poured forward in the final minutes. Wenger found a gap in BC's back line but his first touch bounced harmlessly to the keeper. Duke eventually resorted to long balls into the box but Luthy was equal to the task.