In honor of Duke’s Centennial, the Blue Zone’s new Blast from the Past series highlights pivotal figures and events in Duke sports history. Next, we look at two Blue Devil victories, thirty years apart:
The women’s soccer team just defeated North Carolina at home for the first time ever. Back in October of 1994, the program reached a similar milestone in its record against the Tar Heels: its first ever win in Carolina blue territory — an event that, remarkably, marked the first North Carolina loss at home in program history.
Duke women’s soccer does not boast a brag-worthy record against North Carolina. Since 1989, when the Blue Devils first took on the Tar Heels, North Carolina has triumphed 43 times to Duke’s mere five victories, with five games ending in a toss-up. Though brutal, this stat should come as no surprise to fans of collegiate women’s soccer. Since the official addition of the sport to the NCAA umbrella in 1982, the Tar Heels have collected 21 of the 42 total championships — math majors will tell you that’s a 50% success rate. When the rival schools entered the pitch on an autumn evening in ‘94, North Carolina was on a 101-game win streak. In short, the program was — and is — nothing less than a dynasty.
Details of game
On that fateful mid-90s day, Duke put the first number on the board with a goal off a corner in the 12th minute. After a scoreless 25-minute stretch, North Carolina rebutted with its own corner kick connection via forward Debbie Keller. Though the Tar Heels seemed to dominate in possession for the rest of the half, it was Duke’s Katherine Remy whose header broke it back open in the 69th minute. Remy maintains that she had little contribution to the goal, and it was really Kari Junker’s well-placed cross that put the Blue Devils on top again.
“It was the most beautiful cross I’ve ever seen,” Remy said. “I didn’t have to do one thing.”
Nursing a precarious 2-1 lead, head coach Bill Hempen opted for a defense-heavy formation, adding on an extra midfielder. With this strategy, the Tar Heels could not produce, and Duke found the net yet again in the last five minutes of the game. Star forward Kelly Walbert’s conversion on another Lehr corner extended the lead to 3-1. Though the Tar Heels lessened the gap with a goal in the last minute of play, the Blue Devils reigned victorious as the final whistle blew.
Spotlight on inaugural coach
Although Robbie Church has become the face of Duke women’s soccer, Bill Hempen was the program’s godfather. After serving as the men’s team’s assistant coach for six seasons, winning one NCAA tournament in the process, Hempen was asked to lead the Blue Devils into their first-ever season of women’s soccer in 1988. Despite a slow start, with a .214 conference winning percentage across its first four seasons, Duke rose in rank, peaking in 1994 when it played its historic match against North Carolina, finished first in the ACC and went to NCAA tournament quarterfinals.
After 13 seasons, the Duke women’s soccer program’s inaugural head coach resigned to take the same position at the University of Colorado Boulder. Hempen cited his reason for leaving as doing what was best for his family.
“Duke has been such an important part of my life which makes this decision very difficult," Hempen said. “I have many great friends and great memories here and I will forever be a Duke fan.”
Upon leaving Duke, Hempen boasted a career record of 162-100-16, nine NCAA Tournament appearances, three ACC Coach of the Year selections and one NSCAA National Coach of the Year win. He also trained some of Duke’s greatest athletes, including Jennifer Lewis (‘92), Kristy Welchel (‘98) and Duke Athletics Hall of Famer Kelly Walbert (‘95).
Then to now
The history-making rivalry game on Sept. 5, 2024, bears undeniable resemblance to the one 30 years prior, but the Duke community has undergone great change over the past three decades. The landmark legislation Title IX was passed in 1972, requiring universities to offer equal opportunity between men's and women's athletics. While other colleges complied with the order — by 1982 over 100 NCAA schools had created varsity women’s soccer programs — Duke trailed behind, not offering its female students a chance to play until 1988.
Today, by comparison, Duke women’s soccer garners more student and public support than its male counterpart: on Instagram, the men’s team currently has 40,263 followers, trailing significantly behind the women’s team’s 64,437. Likewise, the women’s games consistently fill the stands more fully than the men’s.
North Carolina’s dominion over collegiate women’s soccer may remain, even three decades after Duke first defeated it, but the closing words of The Chronicle’s 1994 game coverage seem fitting today:
“‘I’m sure tomorrow morning, the girls will wake up and they’ll see that the sun’s there, where it’s always been,’ [Tar Heels’ head coach Anson] Dorrance said. ‘And the sky behind that sun will be blue, as it’s always been. But this time, it will be Duke blue.’”
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