BLACKSBURG, Va. – Senior defender Jordan Graye netted his first career goal in the 48th minute to lift No. 4 North Carolina to a 1-0 win over Virginia Tech Saturday in Atlantic Coast Conference action at Thompson Field. In addition to his game-winning strike, Graye helped anchor a UNC defense that held the Hokies to just two shots on goal and earned its seventh shutout of the season.

With the victory, the Tar Heels (10-2-2, 4-2-1 ACC) move into a first-place tie in the league standings with Wake Forest and Maryland. Additionally, Carolina locked up its best ACC mark since 2004 with its win Saturday. The Tar Heels play their conference finale at Clemson Nov. 4.

After holding a slight edge in shots in the first half at 6-5, the Tar Heels took full advantage of their first scoring chance after intermission. Graye, playing in his 58th career match, took a feed from Cameron Brown and fired from the left towards the far post for the game-winning score and his first goal as a Tar Heel. He owns a career-best four points on a goal and two assists this season.

Graye is the ninth different Tar Heel to find the back of the net this season.

After Graye gave UNC a lead, freshman goalkeeper Scott Goodwin made sure it would stand up with a pair of second-half saves. Making his first career start in place on an injured Brooks Haggerty, Goodwin halted shots by the Hokies (4-9-2, 2-4-0 ACC) in the 50th and 61st minutes to record his first career shutout.

The Tar Heels defense put the clamps on the Virginia Tech for the remainder of the second half, as the Hokies could not manage shot over the final 26 minutes.

UNC outshot Virginia Tech by a 9-4 margin in the second half and held a 15-9 edge for the match. The Tar Heels also posted a 7-2 edge in corner kicks. Hokies’ keeper Stefan Caulfield made six saves on the night.

The Tar Heels close their home slate Wednesday against Stetson at Fetzer Field at 7 p.m.