UNC victorious in ACC finale

Cindy Parlow knows a thing or two about goal-scoring, and she liked what she saw from Jaime Gilbert on Thursday.

"Sweet goal," said Parlow, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, as she slapped Gilbert's hand after the game.

An observer would have been hard-pressed to find fault with Parlow's assessment. But Gilbert's rocket past Duke goalkeeper Allison Lipsher in the 64th minute didn't just look good.

It clinched an undefeated regular season for the No. 1 North Carolina women's soccer team, as the Tar Heels ended regular-season play with a 2-1 win against No. 21 Duke at Fetzer Field.

"That was hit on a frigging rope from outside the penalty box," said UNC coach Anson Dorrance. "That is a world-class finish."

North Carolina (16-0-1, 9-0 in the ACC) will begin its quest for its 16th conference title Wednesday at SAS Soccer Park in Cary.

The Tar Heels will enter the tournament as the top seed after tearing through ACC competition by a combined score of 29-6.

"That was a great regular season," Dorrance said. "For them to go through the regular season undefeated is a huge achievement, especially in light of the fact that that's the toughest schedule in the country."

North Carolina senior Anne Morrell opened the scoring Thursday in the fourth minute.

Wing midfielder Kacey White lobbed a cross into the goal box, and Gilbert flicked the ball with her head across the mouth of the goal.

Morrell met the bouncing ball with her left foot and drove it into the corner of the net to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead.

The Blue Devils tied the score early in the second half, when defender Carolyn Ford poked the ball out of a crowd onto the foot of forward Carolyn Riggs.

Riggs fought off the physical challenge of a defender and beat North Carolina goalkeeper Aly Winget with a line-drive blast to tie the game.

"It was a product of how hard we worked that whole game," Riggs said. "I was the one who trapped it and put it in the back of the net, but I had 10 girls behind me that were bulling it in there with me."

Midfielder Lori Chalupny had the Tar Heels' first real chance to break the tie with 27 minutes left in the game, when she ripped a shot from 25 yards out that glanced off the crossbar.

"(Chalupny) has had an absolutely phenomenal regular season," Dorrance said. "I couldn't have asked for more out of just a tremendous soccer warrior."

Gilbert one-upped her teammate less than a minute later.

Her shot glanced off the hands of a diving Lipsher, but the ball's momentum carried it into the back of the net to give North Carolina a 2-1 lead.

"A lot of the time, I rip shots from that far out, and they're not really on frame," Gilbert said. "It just felt good leaving my foot."

The goal, her ninth of the season, capped a strong performance.

"She was playing a world-class game even before the shot," Dorrance said. "I'm incredibly proud of Jaime and how she's playing right now."

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