The Blue Devils shed tears and did not hide their frustration after losing to their biggest rival Saturday.
In front of a lively and packed crowd at Williams Field, No. 2 North Carolina (11-0, 2-0 in the ACC) came back in the second half and beat No. 5 Duke (7-2, 1-1) 2-1. Blue Devils head coach Beth Bozman was not pleased with her team after the game.
“We were really casual,” Bozman said. “How you can be really casual in a game like this is beyond me, but there were definitely people who were casual in that second half, and we let them back in the game. This is a team sport. We know that one person is going to make a mistake and when they make a mistake we need to be back there covering for them. But we let them back in the game.”
The problems for Duke did not start in the first half. The Blue Devils played stingy defense and did not allow the Tar Heels to penetrate the circle easily. Except for a few dangerous but failed counterattacks, Duke for the most part forced UNC to stay on its side of the field and defend.
Amy Stopford broke the scoreless tie with a goal in the 28th minute on a penalty corner. Katie Grant passed the ball to Johanna Bischof, who faked a pass to Gracie Sorbello and sent the ball to Stopford on the left side of the circle. The sophomore midfielder sent a hard shot in toward the goal that deflected off a stick and hopped over the keeper’s right shoulder.
In the second half, the texture of the game changed. The Tar Heels were the faster and more aggressive team and invaded the circle frequently, putting a lot of pressure on the Duke defense.
Only five minutes into the second half, North Carolina generated a corner after Duke failed to clear the ball multiple times. A mishandled pass out of the corner bounced to Laura Douglas, who sent a shot on net. Karen Mann deflected the ball up and over the shoulder of Duke goalie Christy Morgan to even the score at one.
After the goal, the Tar Heels did not stop attacking. Fifteen minutes later, North Carolina once again converted on a penalty corner, and this time the Tar Heels executed perfectly. After faking a shot at the top of the circle, Carey Fetting-Smith fired a low, hard shot past Morgan to take the lead 2-1.
For North Carolina head coach Karen Shelton, the difference between the teams was depth. The Tar Heels used six substitutes while the Blue Devils only used one, and Shelton said her team had fresher legs in the second half. But for Bozman, stamina had nothing to do with the outcome of the game.
“We had a good game plan for this game, and people did not take responsibility for their roles, and this is what happens,” Bozman said.
As the clock ticked down, Duke had opportunities to send the game into overtime but failed to convert on penalty corners. Sorbello hit the back of the net on one corner, but the shot was ruled high. For the game, the Blue Devils were 1-for-12 on corners, while North Carolina was 2-for-3.
“Corners have a lot to do with what corner you call and with what defense they run,” Bischof said. “We got shots on net, but we didn’t follow them in. If the initial shot doesn’t go in, we need someone to tip it, or sweep it off the sides, and we didn’t do that.”
Shelton said her squad was fortunate that the Blue Devils didn’t capitalize on its corners.
“I think our corner defense did a nice job,” Shelton said. “I know that Duke can be better in their offensive production on their corners. I think we were lucky to only give up one. A good team will score on 30 percent, so we were lucky to hold them to one.”
The big concern for Duke was not its inability to score on corners, but was its trouble on defense. The Blue Devils did not do a good job blocking North Carolina attackers and beating them to the ball, Sorbello said.
After the game, emotions were flying high. The Tar Heels jogged over to their cheering section and celebrated as the Blue Devils looked crushed. Some Duke players shed tears, while others had blank and confused looks on their faces.
“We definitely know we could’ve beaten them,” Sorbello said. “We could’ve and we should’ve. It’s one of those things where we didn’t keep to our game plan, so we are going to face the consequences of that.”
Stopford, who has scored in both ACC games this season, knows her team can play better.
“[Coach Bozman] emphasized more effort and passion and playing with passion,” Stopford said. “We are a great team, and we should play like we are a great team because we definitely have the potential to go very far.”
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