Field hockey primed to end streak

Maybe they don't care much for math, but the field hockey team wants to do anything but add this weekend. Fifty-six is the magic number for consecutive losses Duke has piled up over the last 19 years at the hands of North Carolina, but they do not want a part of any numbers except those on the scoreboard Saturday afternoon when the No. 12 Blue Devils (7-3, 0-1 in the ACC) host the No. 7 Tar Heels (6-4, 1-1) at Williams Field at 1 p.m.

"I wouldn't say we want to get [the streak] over with, because we're really looking forward to the game," senior goalie Erica Perrier said. "It's not anything that we're dreading or anything that we think we're not up to. I think the past two years especially, it's always been a close game."

This weekend's game is bound to be more tightly contested than the 3-1 battle the last time these rivals met a year ago. UNC is not nearly as dominant this season as in years past. In fact, UNC's play has been so unimpressive at times that Tar Heel head coach Karen Shelton told the Daily Tar Heel her team "played like scared little rabbits" after a 2-1 loss to No. 3 Wake Forest last Sunday. The Demon Deacons had blanked Duke 3-0 two days earlier.

The Blue Devils have since recovered with a victory over then-No. 9 Northeastern, continuing a streak of their own--Duke is yet to lose a home game since last season. Blue Devil forwards Kim Van Kirk and Katie Grant extended their team-leading point totals of 19 and 18, respectively, as they each tallied one goal in their win over Northeastern. Chrissy Ashley is third with 14 points.

Saturday, the tandem will try to outduel UNC's own pair of talented forwards, All-America candidates Kelsey Keeran and Kerry Falgowski. Falgowski leads the Tar Heels in scoring with eight goals. Keeran missed the Tar Heels first couple of games due to a broken jaw suffered in practice.

"They're so beatable this year, and we know it," Grant said. "They're still ranked higher than us, which still makes us the underdog, but rankings don't matter."

This is still a proud Tar Heel program that has played in 10 national championships and boasts seven members of the Under-23 and Under-19 U.S. national teams. Conversely, Duke has never been to the championship and has just two national team members in Kim Gogola and Gracie Sorbello.

Using their trademark aggressive style of play by tipping the ball and sending it near the front of the cage to confuse the goalie, UNC showed its mettle by shutting out No. 4 Old Dominion, a team that crushed the Blue Devils 8-1 earlier this year. However, a Tar Heel loss to Louisville--Duke beat the Cardinals 2-1 this year--indicates a major kink exists in UNC's armor. However, Duke is trying not to take anything for granted.