On a Halloween night in Chapel Hill, the Blue Devils proved they are the team the country should fear.
Duke women’s soccer took home its second win against North Carolina this season in head coach Robbie Church's last regular-season game at the helm. The Blue Devils emerged victorious 3-2, buoyed by prolific midfield play and ball distribution.
“They [just had the] heart of champions,” Church said. “They just played so hard, and they were determined. This is just a mentally and physically really tough group, and as tough as I've ever been associated with. I couldn't be more proud of them.”
Sophomore Mia Oliaro had multiple chances to strike on her former team, and while she could not directly get on the scoreboard, she made perhaps the biggest touch of the evening.
With Duke (14-1-1, 9-0-1) up 2-1 in the second half but losing momentum after a Tar Heel goal, Oliaro found her chance. Carina Legeyre sent a through ball from the midfield to Oliaro, who was running down the right side.
On her first touch, Oliaro sent a beautiful crosser that found its way perfectly to the top of Maggie Graham’s head. The fifth-year veteran calmly sent the ball over the top of the charging goalkeeper to the dismay of North Carolina (14-4, 7-3-0) and a giant celebration from the Blue Devils.
“Since I’ve been here, [the rivalry] has always been a little bit one-sided,” Graham said. “So for this year to be in our favor, I think it's been amazing and just is a testament to how hard our team has been working and how good we've become, so I'm excited.”
“[Mia Oliaro] serves the ball, but she knows where it's going,” Church said. “Most people just kind of throw it in the box and hope and pray it is going to hit one of their players.”
The Blue Devils continued their theme of fast starts, dominating possession for the first 25 minutes of the game. Although the team — notably Oliaro — nearly scored multiple times, they weren’t able to break through.
But, Hannah Bebar was determined.
At the 28-minute mark, the Harvard transfer struck a 29-yard rocket to the right side of the net, set up by beautiful footwork and a spin move to shield the defender.
“When I got that opportunity, I thought, ‘might as well take it,’” Bebar said. “So I put it on frame and I was happy to get that goal. I was honestly a little shocked, but having my team around me when I scored that was amazing.”
After a early second-half handball by North Carolina, Bebar got a chance to earn her first brace as a Blue Devil. She stepped up confidently and capitalized, calmly placing a low ball on the right side of the goal to put Duke up 2-0.
It wouldn’t be a Duke women’s soccer game without Leah Freeman heroics, and this rivalry contest was no different. The fifth-year goalkeeper recorded three saves in the contest, and she now has 16 on the season.
The Blue Devils emerged undefeated from a tough stretch of three straight ranked matchups, demonstrating their game-in and game-out consistency, a hallmark of a championship-caliber team.
“This group wants more. They’re not happy with just a regular season ACC trophy. They want more," Church said. "We want to win the ACC tournament coming up next week. We want to win the NCAA tournament.”
This team will have a chance to send Church off with a memorable postseason, which begins Thursday in the ACC tournament semifinals.
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Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.