Harvard Is Hurdle to SDSU Hopes

When North Carolina defeated Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference soccer tournament, the Tigers thought they’d seen the last of the Tar Heels--and everybody else--for the season. Instead, they find themselves in the NCAA tournament semifinals today.

Clemson, the host of the Final Four, will meet the Tar Heels after San Diego State and Harvard meet in the opening semifinal at 1 p.m.

“After we got knocked out by North Carolina in the first round of the ACC tournament, we did not think we would receive a bid, and we were very discouraged,” said Clemson coach I.M. Ibrahim. “After receiving the bid, we were just very happy to be in the NCAA tournament. We have been playing well in the tournament.”

The Tar Heels (20-4) stopped Clemson, 2-1, in a Sept. 13 meeting in Chapel Hill and went on to win the tournament title and has won its last nine games.

“One reason we were able to beat them earlier was they had a younger team than we did,” North Carolina Coach Anson Dorrance said. “In terms of overall experience, we’re a little older than they are.

“I also feel that we match up nicely with their strengths.”

This time, Clemson (16-5-1) will seek revenge on its home field in a match-up expected to draw 10,000 fans.

“I think if it had been a regular-season game, Clemson would have to be an overwhelming favorite,” Dorrance said. “But given the nature of this game, Clemson is going to be motivated to beat us for a number of reasons.”

Dorrance believes his team has the talent to battle the revenge factor, however.

Freshman Derek Missimo is the player Dorrance and others point to as the reason for the North Carolina march toward the championship. After moving up to striker from his midfield position, Missimo has scored seven goals in 10 matches, including five game-winners.

Missimo earned the MVP award in the ACC tourney.

Junior goalie Darren Royer has started all 24 matches and has played in every minute in goal for the Tar Heels. He has posted an 0.81 goals against average with 10 shutouts, including the 2-0 opening round victory over Duke and last Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Loyola of Baltimore.