CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –  Seventh-ranked North Carolina posted its fourth shutout of the season and its first in ACC play as it defeated Wake Forest Thursday night 3-0 in women’s soccer action at Fetzer Field.

 

The three-goal margin was the first time in 11 games this season the Tar Heels have had separation at the end of the match.  UNC, which has won seventh matches in a row and is off to its best ACC start since 2008, played a tie at UCLA in August and other than that had nine matches under its belt, all decided by a single goal.

 

With the win, the Tar Heels improved to 8-2-1 overall and 5-0-0 in the ACC.  Wake Forest, which started six freshmen against Carolina, is now 3-7-2 and 1-3-1 in conference play.

 

Midfielder Cameron Castleberry led Carolina offensively with a goal and an assist.  Paige Nielsen scored the game-winning goal for the Tar Heels in the 15th minute of play and Sarah Ashley Firstenberg scored in her second straight game, following up on her first career goal last Friday versus Virginia Tech.  Nielsen has scored the game-winner for UNC in two of its past three games.

 

UNC head coach Anson Dorrance played 25 players, a season high, in the match and the Heels eventually wore down Wake Forest as Carolina scored goals in the 64th and 70th minutes to pull away.  Wake played hard and had its chances against the Tar Heels but could not put one in the back of the net.  Overall, UNC outshot Wake Forest 17-8 while the Demon Deacons had three corner kicks and in a rarity, UNC did not take a corner kick in the game.

 

UNC almost got on the board in the fifth minute when Joanna Boyles struck a blast from near the top of the box that was parried away at the final moment by Wake Forest starting goalkeeper Lindsay Preston.  Carolina continued to put pressure on Wake and cashed in with a goal at the 14:02 mark.  Cameron Castleberry nudged a ball from the right side to the foot of Boyles who delivered a clever pass to Nielsen who had her back to the goal at the top of the 18-yard box.  She pivoted with a defender on her back and sent a shot with pace into the top shelf of the center of the goal to make it 1-0 Carolina.  The goal would hold up as the game-winning tally.  Nielsen also had the game-winner at NC State on September 28.

 

Wake had a brilliant chance to equalize just over two minutes later.  After a corner kick by Kendall Fischlein from the right side, Pilar Torres sent an acrobat volley that was headed inside the right post.  The ball was headed off the goal line by UNC’s Megan Buckingham and a follow up shot by Sarah Teegarden sailed just high.

 

The first half ended 1-0 in UNC’s favor thanks to Buckingham’s heady defensive play.  The teams came out in the second half with the Tar Heels looking to extend their lead and Wake determined to find the tying tally.

 

Carolina’s Castleberry made the play that pushed the Heels lead to 2-0.  She pounced on a loose ball that fell amongst a trio of Demon Deacon defenders.  Castleberry dribbled across the top of the box right to left, found space and finished clinically with pace into the upper right side for her second goal of the year.

 

Six minutes later, it was Sarah Ashley Firstenberg’s turn to step up again for Carolina.  After scoring with her head in the 3-2 win over Virginia Tech six days ago, this time she scored with her foot in spectacular fashion.  She got the ball from Castleberry on the right side and then dribbled around multiple defenders to get the ball 15 yards out on the right side of the box.  She had the perfect angle to shoot through the remainder of the Wake defense and she sent a hard, fast shot that hummed along the turf, eluding Preston and finding the left side netting.

 

There were two more good chances to score in the game.  Emily Bruder was stopped on a breakaway in the 72nd minute on a kick save by Preston.  With one second remaining, Wake’s Sarah Medina was wide open in the box but she pushed her shot from six yards out left of the post.

 

Carolina is next in action on Sunday, October 12 when it hosts Pittsburgh at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field.  The game will be nationally televised on ESPN3 and broadcast locally on WCHL radio (97.9 FM).