The Blue Devils looked like they had finally conquered North Carolina when they knocked off the Tar Heels to win their first ACC regular-season title ever a few weeks ago.
But with Duke up 2-1 late in the teams’ ACC tournament semifinal tilt Friday, North Carolina got its revenge.
The fifth-seeded Tar Heels overcame the deficit in the final 10:20 of regulation to oust the top-seeded Blue Devils from the conference championship with a 3-2 win at Wake Forest’s Kentner Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Friday marked the second time this year North Carolina used a second-half comeback to beat Duke by that score, as the Tar Heels knocked off the Blue Devils early in the year in a nonconference game before Duke’s triumph a few weeks ago at home.
Although two goals from graduate student Aisling Naughton put the Blue Devils up 2-1 with about 25 minutes remaining, Duke could not overcome a 22-6 deficit in shots and 13 North Carolina penalty corners. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Sammi Steele had eight saves to give her team a chance, but North Carolina’s Ashley Hoffman scored on a penalty stroke with about 10 minutes left and Malin Evert beat Steele at the 64:21 mark to give the Tar Heels the upset.
North Carolina has now beaten its Tobacco Road rival 16 of 18 times dating back to 2006.
“I’m disappointed in some of the things we take pride in and the strengths that we have,” Blue Devil head coach Pam Bustin told GoDuke.com. “It just wasn’t there consistently. They were there in moments, but against a team like North Carolina, running on a lot of adrenaline, we can’t afford those moments.”
Friday’s game was another thriller between the teams, with the teams trading goals in the first two minutes.
The Blue Devils (15-3) struck first for the third time this season against the Tar Heels, with freshman Margaux Paolino feeding Naughton. The Dublin, Ireland, native then beat North Carolina’s Alex Halpin for her 10th goal of the year and continued causing headaches for the Tar Heel defense. Naughton scored in all three contests against North Carolina this year, and Paolino set a program record for freshmen with her 13th setup of the season.
But the Tar Heels (17-4) responded 54 seconds later when Ashley Hoffman charged into the circle and sent a shot past Steele, who shut out North Carolina in the teams’ final regular-season matchup.
“The energy for both teams was just super high and we were able to capitalize on a good run in the very beginning and finish with it,” Bustin said. “Disappointed that we didn’t lock in and expect the same, but credit for North Carolina, coming back and starting the game over again essentially.”
The Tar Heels continued controlling possession throughout the rest of the first half, but Steele and the Duke defense led by first-team All-ACC performer Alyssa Chillano weathered the storm to keep the game tied heading into halftime.
Led by Hoffman, who finished with nine shots and five shots on goal, North Carolina’s offense continued peppering Steele with chances early in the second period, only for the Blue Devil star to deny two consecutive corners.
Duke took advantage of Steele’s heroics in the 44th minute, when sophomore Rose Tynan won the ball in scoring position then found Naughton in front of the cage. Naughton fired the ball into the back of the cage to give the Blue Devils their second lead despite only finishing with Naughton’s two shots on goal.
The Tar Heels finally broke through again needing another tally to tie the contest in the 60th minute following four more penalty corners. Hoffman notched the goal on a penalty stroke, then Emma Bozek set up Malin Evert five minutes later for the game-winner.
Duke removed Steele from the game in an attempt to tie it up and force overtime, but the Blue Devils could not find an equalizer.
Although Bustin’s team had to sweat a little more waiting for Sunday night’s NCAA tournament selection show after the loss, it still got good news Sunday night. After finishing the regular season ranked No. 1 and with the nation’s top RPI, Duke was awarded the top seed for NCAAs for the first time in program history.
The Blue Devils will host either American or Kent State Saturday in the first round. If Duke wins, it would face the winner of Louisville and Delaware in the quarterfinals Sunday as it focuses on making a second straight Final Four.
“We’re going to have to go back and talk about what we do to get ourselves out of those moments and who’s going to step up and be that voice that people listen to,” Bustin said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.