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AROUND THE COUNTRY
Freshman Nancy Pelligreen and the North Carolina field hockey team missed the bus - literally - for the NCAA Division I field hockey championship game Sunday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The bus that was to have picked up the Tar Heels never arrived at the hotel, so the players reverted to the ways of their high school days and piled into cars driven by the parents.
Once the carpools dropped them off at the field, Pelligreen and the Tar Heels proceeded to rout Maryland 5-1 for the national championship.
It was the sixth time in the last seven seasons that North Carolina had played in the title game, but the Tar Heels' first championship since 1989. Pelligreen (Visitation) capped her extraordinary freshman season with three goals in the final four weekend, including an unassisted goal in the final.
NCAA soccer updates: Third-ranked SMU's unbeaten season was in jeopardy until just more than 5 minutes remained in its second-round game against Texas A&M. But Danielle Garrett headed in a corner kick by Melissa Kittner (Parkway Central) and the Mustangs improved to 22-0-1 with a 2-1 victory. SMU plays North Carolina State in Saturday's quarterfinals. . . . Fourth-ranked Notre Dame and Michelle McCarthy (Visitation) advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals with a 5-0 romp over No. 18 Wisconsin, with Ann Kerber (St. Joseph's) and Jackie Billet (Oakville). Notre Dame will play No. 5 UConn for a berth in the Division I final four in Chapel Hill, N.C.
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