When the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels renew their rivalry tonight in Chapel Hill, it will be about more than just bragging rights.
"[This game] is crucial," senior midfielder Blake Camp said. "It could make or break our standing in the ACC, especially going into the ACC tournament. Not only that, but we've got the NCAA tournament coming up and it would be great to go in with the highest seed possible, and [this] game will definitely impact things of that nature."
After tonight's 8 p.m. game at Fetzer Field, both the No. 4 Blue Devils (10-3-1, 3-2-1 in the ACC) and the ninth-ranked Tar Heels have just one more game left on their regular season schedules. Duke will play Clemson and UNC (12-3-1, 2-3-1) will take on Boston College, the eighth and ninth place teams, respectively, in the ACC.
The Tar Heels and Blue Devils are currently tied for first place in the NSCAA Southern Region. Whichever team finishes first in the region would likely improve their NCAA tournament seeding and earn home field advantage for the first few rounds.
If the Tar Heels win, they would move into a tie with the Blue Devils in the ACC and hold the tie breaker if the two teams finish the regular season with the same record. North Carolina would also solidify its spot at the top of the NSCAA Southern Division rankings.
Both Duke head coach John Rennie and UNC head coach Elmar Bolowich anticipate a close game and confessed that there is very little that separates the two teams.
"This year we have almost identical records," Bolowich said. "We have pretty similar personnel, so I think it's going to be a very evenly matched game-probably a one-goal, one way or the other, event."
Duke will be playing its second game in three days after eeking out a 2-1 win over a competitive Stony Brook team Wednesday. The physicality of the game, which featured 31 total fouls and six yellow cards, could affect Duke's performance in tonight's rematch of an ACC rivalry that went down to the wire last year. In last season's game at Koskinen Stadium, forward Danny Kramer netted a goal with 1:17 remaining to break a 2-2 tie and give the Blue Devils their 11th straight win.
"It was a more physical game than you would want two days before we play Carolina," Rennie said after Wednesday's game against Stony Brook. "We would have rather not had a physical game tonight, but that's the way it ended up."
The Tar Heels have had an easier week than Duke, breezing by High Point, 2-0, Tuesday in a game during which the Carolina defense surrendered just three shots. Considering the Blue Devils' short recovery time between games, the Tar Heels, who have been able to maintain possession with excellent ball control all season, could wear Duke down.
"They're the best ball-possession team we'll play, they're probably the best ball-possession team in the country and that'll be a challenge in itself," Rennie said. "They want the ball. They haven't scored a lot of goals, but they have guys that can score. It's just going to be a classic matchup."
Like Duke, North Carolina sports a balanced team with a strong offense and defense. The Blue Devils hold the edge on attack, averaging 2.5 goals per game to the Tar Heels' 1.63, but Duke's offensive advantage evens out when faced with a UNC defense that has allowed less than a goal per contest.
"I think our guys have been very consistent so far and that's what I like about our team," Bolowich said. "Even in the losses that we've had, we've actually played pretty well."
The Duke-UNC matchup has recently been won by the home team. The Blue Devils won at Koskinen in 2004 and 2002 and lost at Fetzer Field in 2001 and 2003.
Despite the high tension and postseason implications involved, Rennie and his team are looking forward to being part of yet another chapter in one of college soccer's greatest rivalries.
"It's a fun game, it's a battle of two top-10 teams and bragging rights," Rennie said. "These are the kind of games that good players love to play in and coaches love to coach in. It's just going to be a classic matchup."
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