CHAPEL HILL - 3,825 came.
It was the biggest crowd of the decade at a UNC home men's soccer game, and still the UNC fan base at Fetzer Field was not enough to drown out the cries of "Go to hell Carolina, go to hell!" that began on Ali Curtis' game winning goal.
Intensity grew during the entire match and peaked when a shot from Curtis in the 84th minute, while lying on the ground, somehow found its way into the back of the net. That late goal proved to be the crushing blow to UNC as the 20th ranked Tar Heels (6-3, 1-2 in the ACC) fell to the third-ranked Blue Devils 1-0.
"It was a war out there," Curtis said, "Of course it was going to be a close game. Duke and UNC, it's never going to be a blow-out, it's always going to be a good game."
The only goal came as Carolina goalie Michael Ueltschey charged for a loose ball in the box. He collided with Curtis and both ended up on the ground with Ueltschey unable to control the ball. Curtis, still on the ground, slammed the ball into the upper right corner of the goal for the game winner.
"Anytime
Duke (6-0-2, 2-0-1) outshot its archrival 13-9, but UNC had its fair share of opportunities on goal, all of which were stopped by both the stellar Duke defense and the exceptional play of goalie Jeff Haywood. In their eight games thus far, the Blue Devils have allowed just four goals.
While UNC appeared to dominate very early in the game, Duke had a number of opportunities, including two shots by Donald McIntosh-one which hit the post and one which was stopped on the line by Carolina defender Joey DiSalvo.
"It took us about 20 to 25 minutes to get used to the kind of game it was going to be, which was a ball-in-the-air, very physical game against a big strong team," coach John Rennie said. "Once we settled in in the second half, I thought we played much better and had some very good chances."
North Carolina had a significant size advantage over the Blue Devils, and Duke was constantly tested in the air by the Tar Heels.
"Carolina's a big strong team and they do well in the air, so they hit a lot of crosses," Rennie said. "It was a very intense, physical game, just like a lot [of games] in the conference."
Both teams combined for 38 fouls on the evening, including seven in the first 12 minutes by the Blue Devils. The grudge match included three yellow cards for violent fouls on Adam Guren, Ryan Furgurson and UNC's David Popp. Duke defender Nii-Amar Amamoo was also pulled aside by the referee for an altercation with UNC's Chris Carrieri.
With wins against North Carolina, former No. 1 Maryland and a draw with defending ACC champion Clemson, it appears that the Blue Devils are in the driver's seat for an ACC title. Still, Rennie knows Duke has a long road ahead.
"Virginia's in the top 20, Wake Forest is the type of team we always have a one-goal game against," Rennie said, "so it's a great start, we're in great position now in our conference, but it's just one game."
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