CHAPEL HILL - The Blue Devils just couldn't find their mojo.
Despite a 90-second, three-goal run that began with just over six minutes left to play, Duke (7-2, 1-1 in the ACC) fell to No. 8 North Carolina, 16-14, Saturday in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels (7-2, 1-1 ACC) capitalized on a 7-1 run in the first half to build a lead that No. 5 Duke was unable to overcome.
"We weren't in any kind of flow offensively today whatsoever," Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel said. "That's our mojo, being able to flow and move on offense, and we didn't do it today."
After Duke scored three goals to take a 3-1 lead early in the first half, the Tar Heels took command with a six-goal run, fueled by two goals and three assists from Carolina sophomore Megan Bosica. With just under nine minutes to play, the Tar Heels led, 8-4.
From there, the cross-town rivals battled back and forth, as sophomore Lindsay Gildbride, junior Carolyn Davis and senior Allie Johnson all scored within a minute and a half to chip away at the deficit. The teams would each score once more before the end of the first half as the Tar Heels led 10-8 at the break.
Despite only trailing by two goals, the Blue Devils had committed 12 turnovers to North Carolina's three, and had just two ground balls to their rival's 11.
"At the beginning I thought it was jitters and being nervous, but it continued throughout the game," said freshman Emma Hamm, who had three goals and an assist on the day. "I think it was mostly mental, because we can do it on any other day."
After the half, the Tar Heels came out strong again, scoring three straight to establish a solid 13-8 advantage. The next six goals were back and forth between the two teams, yet Duke, plagued by turnovers, could not come up with a cohesive offense to erase the North Carolina lead.
"With a young team, when you can't take care of the ball, that creates a host of problems that we haven't had to deal with in the last couple of years," Kimel said. "You create your own luck by the way you play, so for us, the fact that we weren't taking good care of the ball creates situations where the kids get desperate going for loose balls."
With slightly over six minutes remaining, the Blue Devils trailed by five and had their offense pulled out wide and settled. Behind the goal, Megan Del Monte tried to roll the crease but was stopped, and dished the ball to Gilbride, streaking in from the top of the arc. The sophomore netted the opportunity to cut the lead to four. Del Monte added two goals of her own in the next minute and a half, one assisted by Gilbride and another by Hamm to bring Duke within two goals.
North Carolina called a timeout with over four minutes left to play, and it seemed a Duke comeback was in the making. But as the clock wound down, the Blue Devils were unable to overcome the Tar Heels' tenacity.
Carolina maintained possession of the ball and slowed the pace of the game, and although Duke had some opportunities to regain possession on dropped passes, the team ultimately couldn't regain the momentum they had before the timeout.
"They did a really good job today of pushing the ball and making it tough for us," senior defender Aiyana Newton said. "We lost this game for ourselves today, and a glaring number is turnovers. Every time we play Carolina, it's going to be a one- or two-goal game. That's how it goes."
Duke has a week of rest, as it did this past week, before taking on No. 2 Virginia Saturday at home. The Cavaliers defeated the Tar Heels, 16-5, March 16. Last year, the Blue Devils edged Virginia, 19-18, in the regular season, before falling to the team, 14-13, in the NCAA tournament.
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