It's the streak, and it might be the oddest phenomenon in the weird and unpredictable world of Duke's and North Carolina's endless rivalry.
For whatever reason, the Blue Devils have not beaten the Tar Heels in a field hockey game since 1981.
But at this point, the streak might be working in Duke's favor.
This year's North Carolina team, ranked 2nd nationally, does not want to be the squad that ended it when the two teams clash tonight at North Carolina's Francis E. Henry Stadium at 7 pm tonight.
"There is no pressure on us to end the streak," Duke junior Gracie Sorbello said. "The pressure is on them to maintain the streak."
Duke's field hockey program is by no means an underachiever; in fact, it has recorded winning records in all but five campaigns since 1981. The team finished the season ranked 10th in the country last year, and this year's squad, led by its new coach Beth Bozman, currently sits at No. 4.
It's a Blue Devil team poised to accomplish big things--like stare down the Tar Heels and finally end the madness.
"Are we scared of them? No not at all," junior Chrissie Murphy said. "Not at all. We are excited, confident. As far as we are concerned, with our new coach this year, there is no streak. But even if people are going to talk about the streak, it is important to say the pressure is on them."
Bozman has given the team a new confidence and has it reaching new levels, senior Jessica Fluck before Wednesday's practice. Under Bozman's guidance, the Blue Devils (8-1, 0-1 in the ACC) have gotten off to their best start since 1990, with their only loss coming to defending national champion Wake Forest several weeks ago.
In addition--in their own minds, at least--the Duke players already ended the streak this past spring in an exhibition match, and rather handily at that, racing out to 4-0 halftime lead against the Tar Heels (9-1, 0-1 in the ACC).
The Blue Devils are snake-bit and anxious no longer, Bozman said.
"No, they do not scare me..." Bozman said. "We certainly respect them, but I have played them a lot in my career. At Princeton [her previous coaching position] we were very successful playing against them. We are pretty confident going into this game."
Duke enters the match having won its last four games, including victories over top-10 teams Old Dominion and Michigan State.
Sorbello and sophomore Katie Grant share the Blue Devils' team lead for goals with eight, while junior Johanna Bischof has tallied 13 assists--an average of 1.33 assists per game--which leads both the team and the country in that category.
The Tar Heels have received most of their scoring from freshman Rachel Dawson and junior Kelsey Keeran, who have combined for 53 points thus far this season.
The game is also pivotal in ACC standings, as a loss for either team would give it an 0-2 start in conference play--Wake Forest also downed the Tar Heels earlier this season, in a 2-1 overtime contest in Winston Salem.
Regardless of Friday evening's outcome, the streak, however odd and inexplicable it may seem to be, has a different feel this year.
"They have probably scouted us more this year than they have in the last six years," Bozman said. "We left the New Hampshire game unhappy. I think there were probably losses that [the 2002 Duke team] had which they walked away from ambivalently. I think now we are at the point now where we are unhappy with a win if we are not playing our best hockey.
"Certainly UNC knows [we are] not the same old Duke. They feel it is not the same old Duke."
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