The No. 2 Blue Devils (4-0, 1-0 in the ACC) have the opportunity tonight to gain an early-season ACC edge, but they will have to combat a healthier and more talented Tar Heel squad than the opponent that Duke eliminated in both the ACC and NCAA Tournaments last season.
When Virginia Tech joined the ACC last season and became the fifth school with a women's lacrosse program, the dynamic of the conference tournament changed. The fourth and fifth seeded teams had to compete in a play-in game, meaning they had to win two games to advance to the ACC Championship game. UNC earned the fourth seed and won its first round match-up against Virginia Tech, and then had to quickly turn around to play the Blue Devils in the ACC semifinals the following day.
In the game, the rested Duke team, which had secured the No. 1 seed, took advantage of a tired UNC squad, jumped out a three-goal halftime advantage and held on for an 11-9 victory.
"Carolina was worn out because they had to play in the play-in game," head coach Kerstin Kimel said. "It was really hard for them to play back-to-back games."
An early-season victory against No. 3 UNC (3-0, 1-0) will bolster Duke's ACC record and put them on firm footing to win its second straight regular-season title. Getting a win is particularly vital because of the strength of the rest of the conference-four of the teams are ranked in the nation's top 10, including No. 10 Virginia, which eliminated the Blue Devils in the NCAA semifinals last season.
A victory over the Tar Heels, however, is far from certain. UNC is not the squad it was last year and returns talented players who were riddled with injury all of last season. The Tar Heels were without two-year starters Melissa McCarthy and Brooke Dieringer-two of the team's top five scorers from the 2004 squad-because of injuries they incurred before the season even began. This year, the two have returned and, so far, have combined for nine goals, nearly a quarter of UNC's scoring.
"I think Carolina was in a tough spot last year," Kimel said. "They had five or six kids who suffered injuries and they were in a different place then they are now. They have some more experience and talented players. And with those kids returning along with some additional freshmen, they are very deep and we expect a tough matchup."
So far this season, the Tar Heels' defense has been feisty, holding each of its three opponents to just four goals-including a 12-4 win over No. 14 Loyola.
The Blue Devils will try to counter the Tar Heel defense with the scoring duo of junior Kristen Waagbo and senior Katie Chrest, who was named ACC Player of the Week March 7. The two have combined for 26 goals and nine assists this season. Kimel said since the two have played together for three years, they are able to play off of each other's strengths.
"Katie and I are both offensive minded," Waagbo said. "We are usually on the same page with things and have a lot of confidence in each other. We've clicked really well."
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