BY SCOTT FRENCH
Senior Editor
in Cary, N.C.

North Carolina continued its domination of the NCAA tournament Friday afternoon, schooling second-ranked UCLA, 3-0, in a semifinal showdown to stride within one step of its 18th national title and first NCAA crown since 2000.

The No. 1 Tar Heels (26-0-0) took advantage of errors five minutes apart by Bruin freshman goalkeeper Arianna Criscione to open a two-goal lead in the first half, then added a brilliant late strike by Heather O'Reilly to dispatch the largest obstacle in its path toward a 17th championship in 22 years of NCAA competition.

Their final test, a seemingly simple challenge, will be surprising Connecticut (15-5-3), which used an outstanding performance by goalkeeper Erin Rice and clinical finishing by Kristen Graczyk to upset Florida State, 2-0, in the first semifinal at SAS Stadium.

Sunday's final (2 p.m. EST, ESPN2) will be the schools' fourth meeting in an NCAA final, and UConn is still seeking its first goal. North Carolina won in 1984 (2-0), 1990 (6-0) and 1997 (2-0).

''We have waited for this moment since losing to Santa Clara in Dallas [in the 2001 NCAA final] …,'' senior forward Alyssa Ramsey said. ''It feels great to be playing in the championship.''

North Carolina also fell to Santa Clara in last year's semifinals, the first time it had failed in successive years to win the championship. This year's squad has been dominant since August, scoring 107 goals — 26 of them in five NCAA tournament matches — and romping into the final with emphatic victories over the third-ranked Broncos in the quarterfinals and now the consensus No. 2 team in the nation,

The Tar Heels' high-pressure approach put UCLA on its heels from the start, creating dozens of opportunities while denying the Bruins a forum to benefit from their speed and athleticism. North Carolina limited UCLA to five shots, just one on goal, just two in the first half.

Carolina, getting superb performances from Lindsay Tarpley, Lori Chalupny and Maggie Tomecka, owned midfield, preventing UCLA from unleashing its possession game or generating anything on the flanks.

''We can't play a game against them in our penalty box,'' Tar Heels coach Anson Dorrance said. ''We tried to keep a high restraining line on them, and the only opportunities we wanted to give them is if they could time a perfect run through our back three and finish the play. We wanted to try and present them with a different avenue to the back of our net, which I felt was very effective.

''The game was played on our terms because of the risk we took in the game … but that doesn't work if you don't have players who play with passion and, without question, the margin of victory was these kids reaching down and expending enormous amounts of energy to win.''

Kendall Fletcher gave North Carolina a 24th-minute lead, racing past Lindsay Greco to the far post to chest home Alyssa Ramsey's inswinging corner kick from the left wing. Criscione misplayed the cross, racing toward the far post as the ball sailed over her head. Had the keeper stood her ground, she likely would have caught the ball or been able to punch it from danger.

It was 2-0 in the 29th on a horrible mistake by Criscione. Tarpley sent a superb ball down the left flank for O'Reilly, but defender Kathryn Lee got between the U.S. national-teamer and the ball. Lee kicked it back to Criscione, a distance of perhaps 25 yards, but the keeper whiffed when she tried to boot it from the box, and the ball rolled into the Bruin net.

''Honestly, I think we gift-wrapped [that one] for them,'' UCLA coach Jillian Ellis said. ''Then, with the first one, we struggled a little bit with our freshman in goal, and when you have a freshman in a big game, that's a lot of pressure. … I thought by halftime we had shot ourselves in the foot a little bit, and against a good team, that's a big hole to climb out of. We knew we had an uphill battle.''

UCLA (20-2-3), which suffered both its losses this season to North Carolina in North Carolina, was more competitive in the second half but never looked capable of making it a game. O'Reilly added a third goal in the 86th minute, curling a ball through traffic, off the right post and into the net from the top of the box.

Florida State (17-8-1) had ample opportunity to make it an all-Atlantic Coast Conference final, but Rice was outstanding — in the nets and as master of the UConn box — and the Seminoles struggled to put shots on frame. They took 19 shots (to Connecticut's 14), but only four were on target.

''It was a game of chances,'' Florida State coach Patrick Baker said. ''We couldn't get anything to go in. Their keeper and defenders came up big. We were a little off today. Give them credit, they found a way to stick two past us.''

Credit for that goes to Graczyk, who headed home a Jessica Gjertsen cross in the 63rd minute, then first-timed a feed from Kristin Fisher in the 82nd after dummying a low cross from Gjertsen.

Leah Gallegos was dangerous for Florida State — UConn coach Len Tsantiris called her ''very tricky'' — but she struggled to combine with teammates, in part to fine defensive work by Courtney Sands.

''The key was which team would put the ball in the net first, and that is exactly how the outcome turned out,'' Tsantiris said. ''They had some great chances, but I think we had a few more that we were able to take advantage of. (And) Erin Rice … did a super job today.''

NCAA DIVISION I
Semifinals
Friday, Dec. 5 at Cary, N.C.
Florida State 0 Connecticut 2 (Graczyk 63, 82)
North Carolina 3 (Fletcher 23, own goal Lee 29, O'Reilly 86) UCLA 0

Final
Sunday, Dec. 7 at Cary, N.C.
North Carolina (26-0-0) vs. Connecticut (15-5-3), 2 p.m. EST