It's that time of the season when the Royal Blues of Duke go head to head with the Baby Blues of Carolina. Tonight, the men's soccer team will tread down the road to take shots at No. 8 North Carolina (5-1-1, 0-1 in the ACC).
"You don't want to lose to UNC," Duke forward Nigi Adogwa said in anticipation of tonight's battle.
"Yes, [the rivalry] comes into play... we hate UNC," he laughed. "We also need to win to validate that we're a good team at this critical point in the season."
Duke (2-4-1, 0-2) and North Carolina both have the motivation it takes to kick their teams into the next gear after their trials last weekend--the Tar Heels suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Virginia, and the Blue Devils were handled by top-ranked Maryland.
Duke felt the frustrations of playing a top-10 team, as it was unable to put any points on the board despite seven shot attempts and three corner kicks. As the No. 1 team in the nation, the Terrapins have only allowed one goal so far this season, and the Blue Devils will not be able to escape this sort of defensive pressure--North Carolina has only permitted three scores in five games with its dominant keeper Ford Williams, and four goals in seven games overall.
"We're getting better and better as a team," Duke head coach John Rennie said. "We just can't score goals. If you can't score goals, every game goes down to the wire."
Duke is led in scoring and points by senior Danny Wymer, who has recorded three goals this season. Aiding Wymer is sophomore Blake Camp who, before Sunday's matchup, was ranked 15th nationally for assists per game, averaging 0.8. Nigi Adogwa, who is tied for the team lead with six points, has also been a key offensive instrument for the Blue Devils. Earlier this season against Clemson, Adogwa scored the Blue Devils' only goal, his second this year.
"UNC has some terrific individual players and they work very hard as a team," Adogwa said. "The biggest threat will be ourselves. If we don't come out concentrated and confident, we won't come out with a win. They're not as big of a challenge as getting ourselves ready."
The Tar Heels undoubtedly pose a threat with talent on both ends of the experience spectrum. The team is led by junior forward Marcus Storey, who has been essential in the success of North Carolina's attack, registering five goals this season. Jamie Watson, a freshman talent, has scored twice and has assisted on two other goals. While Duke keeper Justin Trowbridge has proven to be strong guarding the net, the Blue Devils will have their hands full with this prolific offense, where seven different players in total have put a point on the scoreboard.
"Our team is gaining confidence and they know they can play with anyone in the country," Rennie said. "They're responding to the challenge very, very well."
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