With the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida pouring heavy rains in Cary, North Carolina, the stage was set for upsets in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday. Two lower seeds knocked off higher seeds to set up a pair of semifinals few would have predicted.
North Carolina State had the upset of the day, knocking off No. 2 seed North Carolina in penalty kicks. After the team's played to a scoreless tie in regulation, NC State goalkeeper Chris Widman stepped up with two penalty saves and his own converted penalty kick to help give the No. 7 seed Wolfpack a stunning advantage. Alan Sanchez closed out the victory for NC State by converting his penalty to send NC State to the semifinals.
They will take on No. 3 seed Boston College, which defeated No. 6 seed Duke, 1-0. Edvin Worley's 96th-minute goal provided the difference.
The Game of the day matched No. 5 Virginia against No. 4 Maryland and while the defending NCAA and ACC champion Terrapins showed flashes of a team ready to repeat, they never could crack the Cavaliers defense. Virginia star Tony Tchani delivered the game-winning goal in the 88th minute to stun Maryland and push the Cavs to the semifinals.
Virginia will meet No. 1 seed Wake Forest, the only top seed to advance. The Demon Deacons cruised to a 3-0 victory against No. 9 seed Clemson on the strength of two goals from freshman Andy Lubahn.
Both semifinals will be played on Friday WakeMed Soccer Park. Both matches can be seen online at the ACC Championship website.
What do you think of these results? Shocked to see UNC and Maryland get knocked off? Think any of the underdogs can stop Wake Forest?
Share your thoughts below.
Ives Galarcep is an American soccer columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com and creator of SoccerByIves.net.
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