FRISCO, Texas -- Coming into the 2008 NCAA Men's College Cup, considering that three teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference made the national semifinals, it was a good bet that two ACC sides could square off for the national title.
Many thought, however, that one of those teams would be Wake Forest, the defending national titleholder who has been to the College Cup for three consecutive years. On Friday night, ACC rivals North Carolina and Maryland instead punched their tickets for Sunday's afternoon NCAA championship game at Pizza Hut Park.
In Friday night's first semifinal, North Carolina (15-7-1) got an early goal from senior striker Brian Shriver, a tally that proved to be the game-winner and sent the Demon Deacons packing.
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SIGHTS & SOUNDS
In the second game, Maryland and St. John's remained scoreless through 104 minutes. That quickly changed when Terrapins senior Graham Zusi stepped up and took a free kick from about 25 yards out. Zusi struck the ball perfectly, sending it into the left side of the Red Storm's goal to end the game and set up the all-ACC final.
"We are very excited to be playing another day and are looking forward to the opportunity to play for a national title," UNC head coach Elmar Bolowich said. "The fact that it is two ACC teams bodes extremely well for our conference. I'm really proud of our team and the way we performed on Friday. I think we showed that we can play and that we are a very good team. I'm looking forward to the Sunday match against Maryland."
Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski's sentiment was very similar.
"We are honored and delighted to have an opportunity to play on Sunday," he said. "It is a goal that we set at the beginning of the year, to have a chance to play on the biggest stage in college soccer. We know North Carolina well and have a great deal of respect for their coaches and their players."
It will be the third time these sides have met this year. On November 7, UNC fell 2-1 at Maryland and five days later, they met in the ACC tournament with the Terps prevailing once again by a 2-1 margin.
"We have had a couple of highly competitive games with them already and we expect Sunday to be another great, tough battle against a team that is playing its best soccer of the year," Cirovski said. "We're looking forward to that challenge and we're ready."
Maryland's win on Friday was their 15th in a row, a streak that began after the Terrapins lost 5-3 at Clemson on Oct. 3.
"I reminded them of what they invested last winter, last spring and last summer, which is the most of every team I've had. I reminded them that it's time to reap the rewards of that and that we won't reap those rewards if we don't pay attention to details," Cirovski said. "I think we're seeing those rewards now."
For Zusi, who will be playing in his final game with the Terps, the focus is simple.
"Once you get to this stage, every team you play is a great team," he said. "Carolina is a great team and they've proven it in this tournament. We just want to go out and play our game. I think that if we do that, we have a good chance of being successful.
"Yes, I think we definitely have a chip on our shoulder. We know that we're good and that we can compete. We have to prove it now. We have everything, the title is on the line and we've lost to this team twice earlier in the year. It's about pride and showing them that we're the better team tomorrow and we're going to show them."
Carolina, on the other hand, had lost five in a row heading into the NCAA tournament, something that gave the Tar Heels something to prove in the postseason.
"I think we definitely have a chip on our shoulder," UNC senior midfielder Garry Lewis said. "We know that we're good and that we can compete. We have to prove it now. The title is on the line and we've lost to this team twice earlier in the year. It's about pride and showing them that we're the better team tomorrow. We're going to show them."
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