Six days after getting crushed 16-8 at No. 3 North Carolina, the Blue Devils knew they needed a more stout defensive effort and a fast start in Friday’s rematch.
No. 17 Duke got both in Friday’s ACC tournament semifinal, but the top-seeded Tar Heels scored the final three goals of the game to win their 12th straight contest.
The fourth-seeded Blue Devils got off to a hot start for the second straight day, jumping out to a 3-0 lead against North Carolina and seizing a 6-4 advantage early in the second half before eventually falling 7-6 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va. Freshman attack Olivia Jenner and senior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea led the way for Duke, with Jenner pouring in three goals as the Tar Heels focused on the Blue Devils’ leading trio of Kyra Harney, Kelci Smesko and Maddie Crutchfield. Duryea recorded 12 saves to keep North Carolina at bay for much of the night.
But even with Duryea and the Duke defense shutting down the sixth-ranked offense in the nation at 14.2 goals per game, the Tar Heels tied the game at six with 13 minutes left before senior midfielder Kelly Devlin took advantage of a failed Blue Devil clear to score the go-ahead goal with 9:35 remaining. Goalkeeper Megan Ward—who notched 10 saves—and the North Carolina defense shut Duke down the rest of the way.
Although the Blue Devils were held scoreless the final 18:10, Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel said she was proud of the way her team rebounded from last week’s rout to nearly pull off the upset.
“Our defense really came ready to battle. I’m so proud of their effort. They really held North Carolina in check,” Kimel told GoDuke.com. “We competed hard the entire game, and I’m super proud of our kids’ efforts.”
It took some time, but the Tar Heel attack came alive when it needed to most Friday. After Duke (10-8) raced out to quick leads to start both halves, North Carolina responded with three straight goals of its own in both instances. The Tar Heels (15-2) took advantage of nine second-half Blue Devil turnovers and a 21-9 edge in ground balls collected to pepper Duryea with shots down the stretch.
Led by midfielder Marie McCool—who netted two goals—North Carolina’s 25-18 edge in shots was ultimately too much for Duke to overcome. But Kimel’s squad showed improvement to hang with the nation’s top-ranked team just six days after getting blown out.
“Clearly, we played a lot of defense in the second half. The difference between this game [against the Tar Heels] and the last game was that our defenders gave Kelsey shots that she could save,” Kimel said. “I don’t think that you could have asked a lot more from our defensive group today.”
Jenner’s standout performance was the other big reason the Blue Devils had the Tar Heels on the ropes for much of the game.
The Annapolis, Md., native scored two early goals and won all seven second-half faceoffs to help Duke stay alive despite its turnovers. Jenner set the Blue Devils’ single-season record for faceoffs won with her fourth draw control of the contest and fueled Duke’s offense as Harney, Smesko and Crutchfield were neutralized, combining for just one goal on eight shots and no assists.
“[Jenner] was the reason we were in the game. Other than our defense, she was the reason because she was so competitive on the draw, whether she was winning it to herself or putting it in a place where people around the restraining line could win it,” Kimel said. “I thought that she did an unbelievable job and was super poised for a freshman today.”
Friday was not the first time in recent weeks the Blue Devils blew a late-game lead. Against then-No. 7 Notre Dame April 16, Duke let a two-goal lead slip away in the final three minutes and eventually lost in overtime.
But after knocking off No. 15 Virginia Thursday and nearly shocking the Tar Heels Friday, the Blue Devils have momentum to build on in practice this week before they find out their NCAA tournament fate during next weekend’s selection show.
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