CHAPEL HILL -- After 110 minutes of fast-paced play at Fetzer Field, the women's soccer team (6-7-2) drew a 0-0 tie from No. 2 North Carolina (13-1-3) Sunday afternoon in their first meeting since losing to their arch rivals in the NCAA tournament last season.
The Tar Heels'--the countries most storied program--last ACC loss at home came to the Blue Devils in 1994, and Duke pushed UNC to the limit again Sunday.
After the first half featured a measly seven shots by both teams, the second half began at a feverish pitch. The Tar Heels pushed the ball into their attacking zone several times, as All-American Candidate Susan Bush blasted a shot on net just inside the penalty area with 38 minutes remaining in the half. Duke quickly counter-attacked and used Gwendolyn Oxenham's speed on the right side to serve the ball into UNC's 18-yard box. Carolyn Riggs connected on a cross and volleyed a shot toward UNC netminder Aly Winget. Head coach Robbie Church was pleased with his team's effort after a lackluster performance in Wednesday's 2-0 loss to Virginia.
"When you come to Carolina and play on their field, it's a tough game," Church said. "They have some ungodly records on this field. What a great effort the girls put out today. It was unbelievable."
Duke's best scoring opportunity of the match came briefly after Riggs' volley was stopped in the 52nd minute. Forward Brigid Bowdell snuck behind the UNC defenders and beat Tar Heel keeper Winget on a volley from 12 yards away. It looked as though Duke would take the game's first lead before UNC midfielder Sara Randolph ran behind her own keeper and cleared the ball off the goaline to prevent a 1-0 deficit. Blue Devil goalie Thora Helgadottir, who made several game-saving plays Sunday, said her team's mentality was confident.
"Last year after we lost to them in the second round [of the NCAA tournament] we swore that we would never lose to them again," Helgadottir said. "We prepared in the same way as usual, but I think our minds were working differently because it was a big game."
The Duke keeper put on a display of excellence in the latter stages of the second half while keeping all 14 of UNC's second half shots out of the net. With 12 minutes left, the Tar Heels made a persistent attack that culminated with a scramble in Duke's penalty box.
Alyssa Ramsey blasted a shot to Helgadottir's left and the Duke goalie made a spectacular kick save. Just seconds later the ball ricocheted to UNC forward Anne Morrell who tried to beat Helgadottir to the left. Once again, she made a kick save but this time the ball was cleared out of Duke's defensive zone. Despite UNC's high powered offensive attack, Church was not willing to adjust his team's playing style. Both overtimes were characterized by a much slower pace since neither team wanted to lose on a golden goal after 90 minutes of exhausting play
"We're upset with only getting a tie but with the way things have been going the last two games we're happy about the shutout," Helgadottir. "We have to win the next two games to make the tournament and that's what we're going to do."
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