CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –  Tenth-ranked North Carolina dominated the shots and the corner kicks Sunday afternoon but could not come away with a goal as the Tar Heels and fourth-ranked Wake Forest played to a scoreless tie at Fetzer Field before 2,318 fans.

 

UNC outshot the Demon Deacons, who were playing without leading scorer Katie Stengal because of an injury, 15-8 and had a pronounced 14-0 edge in corner kicks.   But the goalkeepers on both teams were still able to pitch shutouts and earn each team a point in the muddled Atlantic Coast Conference regular season standings.

 

UNC, Duke and Virginia are now tied atop the league with 16 points each although the Cavaliers have played one more game than the Tar Heels and Blue Devils.  Wake Forest is the league’s only unbeaten team at 4-0-3 and the Deacs are fourth in the standings with 15 points.  All three ties in the ACC regular season for Wake have been 0-0 scores.  Boston College is fifth in the league with 12 points, Maryland sixth with 11 points and Virginia Tech and Miami are tied for seventh with 10 points.  Florida State is ninth with nine points while NC State has two and Clemson zero.

 

Sunday’s draw marked the second successive tie on the pitch between the two teams.  They also played a 1-1 tie on November 5, 2010 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.  UNC leads the all-time series against the Deacons 25-1-2.

 

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with Aubrey Bledsoe for Wake Forest making two saves and UNC starter Adelaide Gay one save.    The best chance of the first half was off the foot of Wake Forest’s Rachel Nuzzolese.  After a foul against UNC’s Meg Morris just outside the penalty area, Nuzzolese sent a shot from the right side across frame where Gay was able to parry it away.  The rebound fell to Alisha Woodson who had her shot blocked.  Bledsoe meanwhile was required to make two first half saves, stopping Alyssa Rich at 8:14 and Crystal Dunn at 32:19.

 

The Tar Heels had a couple of great chances to put the game away in the second half but came up empty.  Crystal Dunn’s shot from long range went high with 25 minutes to play in the second frame.  The with 13:54 left Carolina’s Rachel Wood took a shot from distance that bounded off the right post.  Elizabeth Burchenal was there to put home the rebound for an apparent goal but the assistant referee waived it off, ruling that Burchenal had been offside on Wood’s original strike.

 

In the first overtime period, Carolina had the best chance to score as Amber Brooks’ tough angle shot from the left side of the box was knocked down by Bledsoe and sent over the goal line for a corner kick at 97:53.

 

In the second overtime period, Ally Berry had a chance to end it for the Deacons as she had the ball in the right side of the box but was stripped by Meg Morris before she could get a shot away.  At 104:33, Kealia Ohai had an open shot in the box after a nifty buildup by the Tar Heels but her volley went wide right of the post.  Wake’s last effort came at 107:18 when Nuzzolese recorded her third shot on goal of the game but UNC keeper Anna Sieloff ate it up and the clock ran out before either team could get another build up going.

 

Carolina ends its regular season with a trio of difficult ACC road games.  The #10 Tar Heels travel to Newton, Mass., on Thursday to meet #9 Boston College at 7 p.m.  Next Sunday the Tar Heels will face one of the hottest teams in the ACC, Virginia Tech, at 1 p.m. in Blacksburg, Va.  The Hokies have won three matches in a row.  Carolina will then end the regular season at College Park, Md., on Wednesday, October 27 when it plays at 16^th-ranked Maryland at 7 p.m. at Ludwig Field.   Wake Forest and Duke will face off in a key ACC matchup in Winston-Salem on Thursday at 7 p.m.  The Deacs then end their season with games at Clemson October 23 and at Boston College October 27.