CARY--Not even three minutes into Friday's ACC Tournament semi-final between fourth-seeded Duke and first-ranked North Carolina, the Blue Devils knew they couldn't mess with the best. Tar Heel forward and ACC player of the year Lindsay Tarpley sped into the box and sent a quick pass to first team all-ACC midfielder Lori Chalupny, who floated a spinner into the air. Duke goalie Thora Helgadottir turned her head in one too many directions, and before she could turn back Alyssa Ramsey had headed in her first of two goals on the evening, this one to give UNC a 3-1 lead.
The Blue Devils adjusted from there, switching to a more aggressive formation to try to play catch-up instead of trying to hold defensively. But even a North Carolina own goal could not help Duke on this night, as the No. 1 Tar Heels (21-0) darted on runs with precision passes and poured it on, taking down the No. 10 Blue Devils (13-6-1), 6-1.
"We had no chance to win if we stayed in the same formation that we stayed in," Duke head coach Robbie Church said. "So we went into attacking formation and tried to match them. We're better because we went to that formation. No big deal. We walk out of that game. That game's over with."
From the very start, UNC was not walking anywhere but was showing off its remarkable speed. In the sixth minute, Ramsey sent a long pass to Heather O'Reilly, who had darted diagonally across the field and picked up the ball in stride. Helgadottir hesitated on coming out to meet O'Reilly but eventually stayed back in the net, only to have the Tar Heel forward blast the game's first goal into the right corner.
"I'm actually surprised that she didn't come out and just smother that," O'Reilly said. "I was pretty excited when she started to retreat because there was a lot of room behind her and around her to slip it in."
But it was North Carolina goalie Aly Winget doing the slipping in the 24th minute, when defender Carmen Watley sent a soft pass back to her teammate Winget. Duke's Carolyn Riggs was the nearest offensive player, but she just stood and watched as Winget fell and the ball went under her to tie the game on an own goal.
The Tar Heels did not waste any time getting back in synch, though, as they charged across the field and consistently beat the Blue Devils on runs into the box. Tarpley deeked a defender eight minutes after the own goal and booted a shot toward the goal. Helgadottir made an instant diving save as she extended herself fully to her left, but UNC's Elizabeth Guess gathered the rebound and pounded it home to put North Carolina back up, 2-1.
"That's a goal that could be potentially very deflating because it gets your opponent back in the game," Tar Heel head coach Anson Dorrance said of the own goal. "You can go in two directions with that. One is to have it shatter your chemistry, and the opposite occurred, and the girls started working even harder. That's a credit to our leadership and their chemistry."
After Duke held its own in the midfield to limit any North Carolina chances the rest of the half, Dorrance's speed demons put together a bevy of goals to shut down any confidence the Blue Devils had at the break. After Ramsey headed in her first goal and Duke switched into attack mode, the Blue Devils left themselves vulnerable and allowed three goals in a span of 6:11.
Tarpley fed Ramsey at the top of the box in the 69th minute, and Ramsey was off. She bumped off a Duke defender, curled her body around toward the goal, pulled Helgadottir out of the net and put in her second goal of the day.
Ramsey would be in on another score, as she and Cat Reddick hooked up O'Reilly speeding on a breakaway at the top of the box. Helgadottir came out of the goal again, but before she could fully react, O'Reilly had put the Tar Heels up by four.
At the 74:33 mark, Ramsey added her third assist of the day, giving her an ACC Tournament points record with seven. She and Kacey White set up Guess with a cross within feet of the net. Guess jumped several feet in the air and whipped her neck forward for a strong, fast header to set the final score and set in the aftershock for Duke.
"It makes it a little hectic," Blue Devil defender Kate Seibert said of UNC's speed and mobility. "They're just really smart forwards; not only are they fast, they know where to make their runs. It's hard as a defender. They just work together really well, so I guess we have to work on working together. But there's not really a lot you can do about it."
Duke will try to do something with the rest of its season, though, the schedule for which it will learn today at 3:30 in the NCAA Tournament selection show. Despite Friday's loss, the Blue Devils are all but guaranteed home field advantage in the first round of the national bracket.
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