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The Daily Tar Heel

Deacs Top Tar Heels Again

WINSTON-SALEM -- With two minutes remaining and North Carolina trailing Wake Forest 2-0, midfielder Meredith Keller set up for a penalty stroke.

But when Keller pushed the diagonal shot, Wake Forest goalkeeper Katie Ridd promptly denied her flick. The midfielder, visibly disgusted, slowly walked back to her team.

Another Tar Heel opportunity had gone awry.

Keller's missed conversion was a microcosm of UNC's offensive inefficiency as UNC (8-3, 1-1 in the ACC) fell to WFU (7-3, 1-1) for the fifth time in seven contests dating back to 1999.

"I think our midfielders got more involved; we didn't create as many chances but it was a defensive game," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "They are good on their heels. They are fast, and I think they outplayed us today."

Deacon forward Heather Aughinbaugh broke a scoreless tie with two key second half goals to down the Tar Heels at Kentner Stadium.

With 34:10 remaining in the contest, WFU drew a corner. Aughinbaugh, who inbounded the corner pass, was open after a ricochet from Kelly Dostal's blast. Her left side putback gave the Deacons a lead they would not relinquish.

Aughinbaugh wasn't done. With six minutes remaining, she received a downfield pass and pushed it past UNC keeper Amy Tran in the center of the goal.

"It's great, (the victory) opens up the ACC. This is a huge win for us," Aughinbaugh said.

Despite Wake starting three backs instead of the conventional four-woman line, the Wake defense stymied the Tar Heels' production.

UNC only could get off nine shots on goal and were outcornered five to three.

"We may be a little bit thin in the backfield and try to play a really concentrated defense through our midfield," said Wake coach Jen Averill. "When we can do that, we were able to stop most of their penetration, so I was extremely proud."

UNC will be forced to regroup to regain the edge in conference. The Tar Heels face ACC foe Virginia on Saturday in Charlottesville and Maryland at home Oct. 20.

"We hustled. We played hard. We just need to be better at our skills," said sweeper Abby Martin. "They are beating us out our own game and we need to pick it up before playoffs come."

The Sports Editor can reached at sports@unc.edu.

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