Wake Forest University
ACC Tournament (UNC)
Wake Men's Soccer Edged By UNC In ACC Semis
11/10/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 10, 2000
Winston-Salem, NC - The Wake Forest Demon Deacons dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 game to the nation's #1 team on Friday night in the ACC Tournament Semifinals. Wake Forest drops to 10-7-2 overall and will await word from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee as they announce the 32 teams that will qualify for the 2000 College Cup.
Wake Forest started the game less than 48 hours after their thrilling quarterfinal penalty kick win against Clemson. North Carolina, on the other hand, had the benefit of a first-round bye. For most of the night, the Wake Forest defense bent, but didn't not break. The Deacs allowed 28 shots, the second highest total all season, but did not yield many quality scoring chances. The only goal of the night was scored by the Tar Heels' Noz Yamauchi at the 67:03 mark of the second half. Yamauchi took advantage of an uncleared ball in the Deacon penalty box to put the ball in the net. Yamauchi's third goal of the season was assisted by Michael Bucy and Caleb Norkus. Yamauchi's goal was the only blemish on Deacon goalie William Hesmer's 10 save performance.
Wake Forest Coach Jay Vidovich said, "I'm happy, with our young team, to see them execute our game plan and to stay composed. They withstood Carolina's pressure well. Tonight you saw why the bye in an ACC Tournament is so important. Carolina deserved that bye after their regular season and I wish them good luck in the final."
North Carolina Coach Elmar Bolowich said "Obviously it was very hard for us to get that first goal. Wake Forest did a wonderful job of holding our strikers in check, something no other team had done all year. You have to give them a lot of credit since they played 120 minutes yesterday. We felt that if we kept up our intensity eventually one would go in. Things changed for us when Caleb Norkus came in at halftime. Our intensity picked up and that made a difference."
The Tar Heels will face the Virginia Cavaliers who defeated Duke 3-0 in the first game of the evening. With this victory, North Carolina improved its record to 18-2.
