ACC Semifinals: Clemson facing Notre Dame while Pitt battles Florida State

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Clemson and Pitt are moving on in the 2023 ACC Women’s Soccer Championship after Sunday’s first-round action.

The semifinals are set for Thursday, Nov. 2 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. The Tigers will face No. 2 seed Notre Dame at 5:30 p.m., while the Panthers will square off with top-seeded Florida State at 8 p.m. ACC Network will broadcast both matchups. (View Bracket)

First Round Recaps

No. 3 Clemson 1, No. 6 Wake Forest 0

Mackenzie Duff’s second-minute goal was all Clemson needed, as the Tigers advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 ACC Women’s Soccer Championship for the second time in three seasons. With the clean sheet, senior Halle Mackiewicz broke the program record with her 13th shutout of the season.

Mackiewicz needed just three saves on the evening, as her 13 shutouts are the most by an ACC player since North Carolina’s Claudia Dickey posted 15 in 2020-21. The keeper made just one save in the second half, as the Clemson defense held Wake Forest to three second-half shots.

The Tigers will face second-seeded Notre Dame in the semifinals in a rematch of both teams’ regular-season finale when the Fighting Irish claimed a 2-0 victory in South Bend. Thursday will be the first time the teams will meet all-time in the ACC Championship.

No. 5 Pitt 2, No. 4 North Carolina 1 (OT)

After the teams traded second-half goals to send the match to extra time, Pitt’s Amanda West found the game winner in the 99th minute and eventually gave the Panthers their first-ever win in the ACC Championship. Goalkeeper Ellie Breech made four saves on the night, including two in the first overtime period to prevent the Tar Heels from taking their first lead.

After finishing the season with a conference-record eight ties, North Carolina suffered it first loss of the season. The Tar Heels entered the night as one of only five teams in Division I without a setback this season.

Pitt will face top-seeded Florida State on Thursday, as the Seminoles have won the last three ACC titles. During the regular season, FSU defeated the Panthers 3-2 in a match that saw four second-half goals.