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Dorosy lifts Seminoles to NCAA women’s soccer title
CARY, N.C. (AP) — Dallas Dorosy made one more play for Florida State at another big moment.
Dorosy scored in the 60th minute to help the Seminoles beat North Carolina 1-0 on Sunday for the NCAA Women's College Cup championship.
Florida State (20-4-3) won the NCAA title for the second time. It also won it all in 2014.
"I thought our kids fought extremely hard," coach Mark Krikorian said. "Resilient as can be."
Dorosy scored five of her seven goals this season in Florida State's final seven matches. She was a big reason why the Seminoles advanced to the Final Four, scoring the equalizer in the second and third rounds with her team trailing 1-0.
"As a senior, you realize that it's your last run," Dorosy said. "My teammates work so hard for me, and I try to work hard for them."
Dorosy uncorked the winning shot as she slid to the ground in front of North Carolina defender Lotte Wubben-Moy, beating Samantha Leshnak to the near post. Dorosy one-timed a feed from Deyna Castellanos, who crossed the ball along the ground from just outside the penalty area on the right side.
"I just threw my body in there with everything I had," Dorosy said.
Caroline Jeffers made two saves in Florida State's 16th shutout of the season. She dived on a dangerous loose ball in the 85th minute to preserve the lead.
North Carolina (21-4-2), a 21-time NCAA champion, was shut out for the second time all season.
"If there was a way for neither team to lose that game, I think that would have been the just result," North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance said.
North Carolina's best scoring chance came in the 36th minute, when Rachael Dorwart's header off a corner kick sailed wide left.
The Tar Heels outshot Florida State 6-2 in the second half and finished with a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks for the game.
"It was really close," North Carolina defender Julia Ashley said. "But we just weren't able to get it done. It was one pass or one shot away."
The Seminoles finished the year with a nine-match unbeaten streak after a 1-0 loss at Miami on Oct. 25. They recorded their 10th win all time against North Carolina, more than any other school against the Tar Heels.
The final was the third meeting this season between the Atlantic Coast Conference rivals. North Carolina won 1-0 at Florida State on Sept. 14, and the Seminoles beat the Tar Heels 3-2 in the ACC Tournament final on Nov. 4.
After scoring twice against North Carolina in the ACC title game, Dorosy hurt the Tar Heels once again.
"Same team, same stadium," she said.
Florida State completed an impressive run to the national title. In their last four games, the Seminoles eliminated the last three NCAA champions (Stanford, Penn State and Southern California) and the most accomplished program in the sport.
The Tar Heels were in the Final Four for the 28th time in the 37-year history of the tournament. They have now gone six years since their most recent NCAA title in 2012. Before this stretch, they had never gone more than two years in a row without the crown.
"It's never easy, no matter what the stage is, to play against North Carolina," Krikorian said. "They've defined excellence in all of college sports, not just college soccer. For us to be sitting here, finding a way to score a goal, finding a way to get the result and win, I think we all feel very good about that."
