CARY — Thursday night was the third time the Blue Devils faced off against the Tar Heels this season; the game showed there’s still a first time for everything.
In the semifinals of the ACC Championship — which was delayed 75 minutes and did not start until 9:15 p.m. — No. 1 Duke could not complete the sweep of its archrival, and fell to No. 8 North Carolina 2-1 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
“I thought we were jagged a little in the second half offensively,” head coach Robbie Church said. “Our touch got away from us.”
Duke’s (14-2-1, 9-0-1 in the ACC) lone goal of the match came from a penalty kick. Graduate student Ella Hase streaked down the left side of the pitch, which has become her signature move this season. As she turned around the ball, two Tar Heel defenders closed in on her, and Hase fell to the ground. But no whistle was blown. The game continued on to cries of outrage from Blue Devil fans in the crowd until a minute or so later, when the referee finally blew the whistle and the play went to video review.
After the referee reviewed the play, it was determined that there was a foul on Hase. As it occurred in the box, Duke was awarded a penalty kick. The newly-minted ACC Defender of the Year, Cameron Roller, stepped up to take the kick and proved that she is just as good on offense as she is on defense. With the cool confidence more expected of a senior than a sophomore, Roller calmly kicked the ball, powering it past North Carolina goalkeeper Clare Gagne. As the ball hit the back left corner of the net, the Blue Devil side of WakeMed Soccer Park burst into cheers.
The packed stands were split exactly down the midfield line. One half wore dark Duke blue while the other sported the lighter North Carolina shade. Despite the late start and even later finish to the game, both fanbases stayed faithful, screaming and cheering until the bitter end. The dedication of the fans represented the best of women’s college soccer and showed how deep the rivalry between the two teams goes.
But the color of this game was not blue — it was yellow. The match was characterized and defined by the five yellow cards earned by both teams.
“It was probably the most physical of the three games,” Church said. “It did disrupt the rhythm, [the] tempo of the game a little bit.”
Though it certainly caused a disruption to the Blue Devils’ rhythm, physicality on North Carolina’s part did award Duke the foul that would give it a 1-0 edge about half way through the first half.
Shortly after the first half goal, it appeared as though the unfathomable would happen for the Blue Devils, as goalkeeper Leah Freeman appeared to go down with an injury. Luckily for the Duke faithful, Freeman stayed in the game — even though it was clear she was in some kind of pain.
On the other side, North Carolina came out of the locker room with a vengeance, playing a much more aggressive offense than it had in the first half. The Tar Heels deliberately probed Duke’s usually air-tight defense, and eventually, something gave way.
Barely four minutes into the second half, North Carolina freshman Linda Ullmark powered a long ball towards the goal. Initially, it looked as though Freeman succeeded in deflecting it, but the ball took an unfavorable bounce off of Freeman’s hands and into the goal for the equalizer.
Looking to retake the lead, ACC Midfielder of the Year Maggie Graham had a streaking run down the field. The ball was perfectly set up for her to earn her eleventh goal of the season, but Graham headed it just right of the goal, leaving the game tied.
“We’ve got to get ourselves back and be a little sharper,” Church said. “We weren’t patient enough.”
North Carolina got its own opportunity to score after an uncharacteristic Duke error. Graduate student Nicky Chico earned a handball call just outside the box which gave the Tar Heels a free kick mere feet from the goal. Duke’s defenders lined up, forming a wall of protection in front of Freeman and the goal, and despite a powerful Tar Heel strike, that wall did its job to perfection. The shot bounced off of Bebar's back, denying North Carolina the chance to take the lead.
The Tar Heels’ winner would come soon enough.
Once again, a foul would end up leading to a goal. This time though, Graham fouled North Carolina’s Aria Nagai. The Tar Heels’ bench and its assembled fans all rose up, demanding that Graham be awarded a yellow card and North Carolina a penalty kick. While the officials did not dole out their sixth yellow card of the night, and the Tar Heels had to settle for a corner pick instead of a penalty kick, the desired end result would be the same.
Nagai sent the corner kick booming towards the Duke goal where Armstrong — who had just returned to the team after playing with the U.S. U17 Team with Duke freshman Mary Long — was waiting. Leaping over a crowd of defenders, Armstrong headed the ball into the goal to put the Tar Heels ahead with 10 minutes left in the game.
The Blue Devils' play turned frantic as they attempted to bring the game back into reach.
“We turned it over too easy,” Church said. “And now we're chasing the game, and we're chasing them as athletic as they are.”
North Carolina's speed and poise would prove to be too much for Duke, who lost their first game since the season opener against Ohio State.
With the loss, the Blue Devils' hopes of winning the first ACC championship in program history are postponed yet another season. Despite the devastating loss, Church remains confident in his team’s ability heading into further postseason play.
“Absolutely no question about it,” Church said when asked if he still believes his team still deserves a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. “I think our body of work, we’ll put it up against anyone in the country.”
Duke will now await news of their NCAA tournament seeding, which will be released Monday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.